Siege of Astaria
by Yagton
Summary: When a threatening Anima from Cooro's past comes onto the scene, things in Astaria become riled up and fierce. Who is this Anima, really, and what plans does he have? And why is Cooro always so quick to agree with him...? WARNING: Contains some shonen-ai
1. Fly's Memorial

The sun was just reaching its peak in the sky. With no clouds blocking it, its rays flew to the Earth, generously lighting up the field.

Husky stared up at Cooro and wondered how the boy could fly so vigorously and not get completely tired out. He shielded his eyes from the bright glare, feeling a bit queasy. He wasn't in his natural element in the sun – he could stand it while he was underwater, but traveling for so long without any water at all…it was almost torturous.

The four +Anima trudged on through the grass – Nana complaining about how hot it was and her clothes would stick to her, and Senri not saying much of anything. Husky figured that Kim-Un-Kur were used to the heat.

"Hey, Husky!"

The fish +Anima was thrown out of his thoughts and back into reality. Cooro had landed beside him, almost touching him – Husky's cheeks went pink, but he tried his hardest to hide it. "Wh-what?" he asked, trying his best to seem annoyed.

Cooro didn't seem to notice anything odd. "The small memorial I made to Mr. Fly is near here! We should go see it!"

Nana groaned. "Cooro, that guy used you and stole your Anima! Why, in the first place, would you ever make a memorial to him? And why would you visit it?!"

"Mr. Fly treated me well," Cooro replied, his trademark smile not wavering for even an instant. "He took me in, and gave me good food, and was really nice to me. He wasn't all bad."

Sighing, Nana told him, "If you ask me, I think you just can't hold a grudge." She left it at that, going back to complaining about her skirt and how it was making her legs look bad. However, she shot a glance at Senri, silently pleading with him to back her up. The Kum-Un-Kur, as usual, remained quiet and distant.

So their path was set – they would visit Fly's memorial for a brief minute, then continue onto the next town. Everyone but Cooro despised the idea, but one of them could convince the Crow +Anima otherwise. It was very hard to deny him what he wanted, though most of the time it was trivial things, like apples.

As the day pressed on, the four +Anima children trudged their way along the open field, stopping only once or twice to catch their breath or give Cooro time to gorge himself. Save for those few times, they were walking nonstop.

When the sun was beginning to creep below the distant mountains, in the evening, Cooro's face finally began to really light up. His face glowed like Christmas lights. "The memorial's right up here, guys!"

Nana and Husky were completely bushed by this time. "Why couldn't he have built the stupid thing closer to where we were?" Husky moaned, holding his sides and breathing heavily.

"If I'd known I would be walking all this way in my best dress, I would've given him a piece of my mind…" Nana breathed. "I need some water…!"

Senri was quiet, and looked absolutely normal. He turned his head to the two bemoaning children beside him, and his expression didn't change. Though maybe he as confused by what they were doing. After all, it had been an enjoyable trip…

"It's just over this hill!" Cooro called out. Waving his hand, he pointed forward. "C'mon, guys!" Laughing joyfully, he turned and sped over the hill's crest, and down to where the memorial was.

As he neared it, though, he stopped. He definitely hadn't left _that_ there…

Someone, or something, was down at the memorial. A gray cloak was draped over their body, obscuring everything but a leg. This person obviously hadn't noticed Cooro, and kept staring at the memorial. A cool chill swept through the small valley, causing the cloak to swirl and dance. The hood fell down, revealing a mess of silver hair.

Cooro was intrigued. Slowly and carefully, he inched his way down the hillside, making sure not to disturb whoever it was down there.

It took him the better portion of ten minutes to reach his destination. The boy was, for a change, serious. Who could be here…?

Slowly and nonchalantly, he stepped beside the person wearing the gray cloak, admiring his work. Fly's face was drawn on the rather large rock, and a small inscription had been left below it. A surge of pride washed through Cooro's body.

He stood beside the person in the gray cloak for a few minutes in total silence. Finally, though, he broke the ice. "He was a great scientist, wasn't he?"

There was yet another momentary silence.

"Great? I guess you could say that. But I'd describe him as evil, if you ask me."

The urge to agree with whoever it was came over Cooro. "Yeah, I guess…"

"I'm glad this all the memorial he got. The man was a menace to all +Anima – I'm actually surprised he even _got_ something devoted to him." Contempt was heavy in the way this person spoke of Fly. In fact, it was so natural that even Cooro found himself angry at the scientist. He had stolen +Anima to fuel his own selfish whims, and…

What had come over him? Cooro shook himself back to reality – he'd never thought about Fly that way before.

At that point, Husky, Nana, and Senri came over the hill, traveling downwards rather quickly. All three came to a stop behind Cooro, apparently just as surprised as he was that someone else was there.

"Who're you?" Husky asked, putting up a defensive front.

"I'd like to ask you the same question," the person in the gray cloak replied. But whoever it was did turn around, revealing their face to all four +Anima.

Cooro's eyes were wide when he saw the face of the boy in the cloak. He did a double take before exclaiming, "Zeke…?!"


	2. Zeke

The boy in the gray cloak was taken aback. "Who…who are you?" he asked. But immediately after he had, he took a closer look at the crow +Anima. His pale green eyes examined the boy, and a smile began to wash over his face.

"Cooro…?" he asked. The crow boy nodded with a grin.

"Cooro! It's you!" The boy in the gray cloak threw himself at Cooro, and the two embraced in a friendly way. They were laughing. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Nana, Senri, and Husky stood on the sidelines of the reunion, all wearing dumbstruck looks on their faces. What exactly was going on here…? For one, the boy in the gray cloak was at least six inches taller than Cooro, and had thrown himself at the boy – how had the crow +Anima held the other boy's weight up? And second, how did they know each other?

As the hug ended, Cooro turned to his three companions. "Guys, this is Zeke!!!" The boy in the gray cloak waved timidly, though his smile was still quite large. The boy turned to Zeke, grabbed his hand, and pulled him forward. "He's one of my oldest friends!"

Husky wasn't all that impressed. He knew, for a fact, that Cooro was quick to trust people. Too quick. He opened his mouth to speak his opposition to Zeke.

"Wow…" Husky turned to see Nana shuffling in place, hands brought together under her chin. Her cheeks were the shade of soft pink. Her eyes were fixed upon Zeke, whose silvery hair shone brilliantly, even in the dim light of the sunset. Sighing, she extended her bat wings and hovered over to the boy. She landed right in front of him and immediately brought her hand halfway to his. "I'm Nana…"

Chuckling gleefully, Zeke took her small hand in his and shook it. "I must say, I think I'm in the presence of a princess."

Nana's entire face went the color of a ripe tomato. Laughing lazily yet contentedly, she fell backwards onto the ground.

Husky turned to get some help from Senri – surely the Kim-Un-Kur, whose race was so well known for their instincts, would have the same feeling about Zeke. But Senri was no longer standing beside the fish +Anima. Instead, he was by Zeke, already comparing heights. Zeke was a few inches shorter than Senri, as it turned out.

"…You know Cooro?" They were the first words Senri had spoken in a while.

Laughing lightly, Zeke replied, "Yes. We were both sort of raised by Fly, though I'm older."

"Do you have an Anima?" Nana asked him, eyes full of respect.

Nodding, the boy in the gray cloak told her, "Yes, though I don't feel much like showing it right now." Husky nearly snorted. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends, Cooro?"

Smiling the biggest smile he'd probably ever had, Cooro said, "That's Nana. And the big one's Senri.

"That's Husky." Husky heard his name being mentioned. The already irritated fish +Anima shifted his head to see Cooro pointing him out to Zeke. It practically infuriated him.

'_That pompous little…' _Husky thought to himself. _'He thinks that just because he knows Cooro, he's automatically cool with us. He's not, and I'm afraid if I'm the only one who realizes that…' _Still, he took a moment to examine the boy. With his silver hair, falling almost into his eyes, those sickly green eyes, and down to the bottom of his neck…Curvy body…Ghostly pale skin…It all gave off an air of uncertainty, mystery, and danger to Husky.

Everyone was still chatting with Zeke as though they'd known him forever. And, for some odd reason, they contradicted themselves in order to agree with him.

"This is my favorite dress to wear," Nana was telling him. "I love how it fans out at the bottom."

Hand on his chin, Zeke told her, "No offense, but the fanning isn't really necessary. In fact, it takes away from the overall look."

Nana reexamined her favorite dress. "You're right," she said. "It's a bit…ugly."

"You should get rid of it," Zeke continued. "It wouldn't suit someone of your beauty to wear something that atrocious."

"I think I'll get rid of it," Nana told him, nodding. "And quick! I can't be seen in it ever again!"

Husky's jaw dropped all the way to the ground. Nana always had nothing but praise for the dress she was currently wearing – always insisted that it was perfect, even when Husky had – unwise as it was – suggested almost the same thing Zeke just had. Yet she believed the new guy and completely changed her opinion to suit him.

Something just wasn't adding up. It was, in all honesty, a bit scary for the fish +Anima.

He had to take matters into his own hands, and fast. Something was making him queasy.

Husky strolled as briskly as he could up to Zeke. Bowing politely, barely hiding his suspicions, he said, "It's been nice meeting you, but we really must be on our way. We have to get to town before nightfall."

"But…!" Cooro protested. "We still have so much to catch up on!"

Scowling, Husky grasped Cooro's wrist and, wordlessly, began dragging him up the other side of the small valley.

Apparently resigning himself to the fact that they were going, Cooro wove to Zeke with his other hand. "See ya!"

As Nana and Senri chased after Husky, Zeke waved to their backs. "Goodbye, everyone. It was nice to meet you all, but don't act so here-and-now." He smiled a very wide grin. "We'll be seeing each other again…and quite sooner then you think."

When the four +Anima children had disappeared over the hill's crest, another figure came out of the shadows. Whoever it was stood by Zeke, arms crossed. "That didn't go very well at all, did it?"

Zeke caressed his chin with his fist. "No. It didn't."

The other figure nodded. "What do we do now?"

As nightfall came upon the valley, Zeke's face was almost covered by shadow. But his eyes held their gleam, and his smile became rather toothy. "Simple – we follow them to wherever they're headed. I've waited too long to have such a minor inconvenience stop me. But the first thing we have to do is get rid of that pretty blue-haired one. If it wasn't for him, I'd have the three of them now."

"They practically admired you."

"I know, Noïr." Zeke's smirk was dark and foreboding. "But enough talk for now. I will have Cooro, and then our operation can begin." Both people disappeared into the shadows and went on the move.


	3. A Small Hotel

Night had truly set in by the time the four +Anima children reached their destination. It was s small, Podunk town back in the sticks. There was only one little hotel in the town, but it was reputed to have nice clothes stores – Nana was the one who insisted multiple times, in great detail, about why they _had_ to go.

Even in the darkness, the group could still see the clothed mannequins in the shop windows, their dresses covered with patterns of flowers and small animals.

"Ooo, they're so pretty!" Nana exclaimed. "And look, the shop's still open! Can we pleeeeeeeeeease go there right now?!"

"In the morning," Husky told her with a yawn. "I'm bushed, we need a few beds."

"Well, I demand my own bed," Nana said commandingly. "I won't be sharing a bed with a boy."

"And you think I will?!" Husky shot back at her.

"…Floor," Senri told them, expressing his wish to sleep on the floor.

Irked, Husky asked him, "Why are you never on my side?"

"It'll be fine," Cooro reassured Husky. The crow +Anima smiled calmly. "I don't mind it."

Husky's cheeks went pink, but he was quick to blame it on the night's chill. "F-Fine," he stammered. "But first we need to find the place." The group moved on, Nana taking one last look at the bright shop. She didn't seem to notice that one of the mannequins was missing.

Five minutes later, the group of children had located their hotel, which was two stories high but surprisingly small. Husky grumbled his complaints to himself as they entered. Nana talked to the clerk, who lounged at the front desk in a mess of wild black hair. A cigarette stuck out from between two of his teeth.

When his hands had safely secured themselves around the money he was given, he reached back and grabbed a key. "1st floor, room 3," he muttered, followed by a loud cough.

Grimacing, Nana quickly took the key and the group retreated down the right-hand hall. None of them bothered to look back and see the clerk's eyes, not completely covered by his black hair, following their path. He took another puff of his cigarette and said, in a louder voice, "Room 3, down the right-hand side…"

* * *

When they'd set their meager possessions down inside the room's closet, everyone went to sleep quickly. Husky, cheeks pink once again ("You mean none of you can feel how utterly cold this room is?"), had still objected to sleeping in the same bed as Cooro. However, it was either the comfortable bed or the cramped bathtub, so in the end, Husky laid his head on the pillow.

But he couldn't get to sleep like the others had so easily done. His mind was still racing about the mysterious Zeke. Everything about the boy was entirely suspicious, especially his uncanny ability to get people to agree with him. Something wasn't right…

He spent the early hours of the morning contemplating just what Zeke could be up to. A thousand possibilities racked his brain, each more unlikely than the last. Zeke obviously wasn't a black market dealer, nor could he be royalty in disguise. It would be far too cliché if he turned out to be a long lost relative of Cooro's, or…Husky had shuddered at the idea of being related to the silver-haired boy, causing Cooro to stir

"Are you alright…?" the crow +Anima had quietly asked.

Husky had looked at Cooro – right into this big brown eyes, shimmering glossily with sleep. A lump built up in his stomach. Could he really lie to those eyes?

Turning so he didn't have to face the crow +Anima, Husky had. "It's…it's nothing. Go back to sleep."

Before Cooro obliged, he'd absent-mindedly muttered, "If anything's the matter, you just have to tell me…" And those words had stung the fish +Anima so severely that his mind had been driven from thoughts of Zeke to pure nothingness. And they'd remained that way until the sun shone in through the window, waking everyone else up.

Nana spent at least an hour in the bathtub, because she claimed she had to look her best or else everyone buying clothes would jeer at her.

When she was finished up, three +Anima went to the door.

"Are you coming, Cooro?" Husky asked him. But the crow +Anima had only shaken his head, claiming he wanted to think. It was very uncharacteristic for the boy, but Husky had a feeling he knew what was going through Cooro's head.

So the trio had gone downtown to the fanciest little dress shop the town had to offer. Only a few other people were inside shopping, though they were beautiful women. Husky opted to remain outside, saying he wanted nothing more to do with women's clothing.

As Nana and Senri had entered, a girl had come out. She had flowing chestnut colored hair and a few freckles on her nose. Husky felt his jaw twitch as he watched her walk his way. When the girl opened her eyes, they were the warmest shade of indigo blue the fish +Anima had ever seen. He seemed to melt into them.

The girl wore a light blue tank top and short blue jean shorts that showed off her terrific legs.

When she neared him, she waved. "Hi there, handsome."

Husky, almost involuntarily, waved back. "Is this a good shop?"

The girl stopped and made a funny face. "What, looking to get something for yourself?"

Husky really tried not to laugh, but a small chuckle escaped his lips. "No, two of my friends are in there, and I wouldn't want them to be disappointed."

"So modest," the girl told him with a quaint laugh. Suddenly, her hand reached out and took the +Anima boy's. His face skipped the usual pink stage and went straight to red. He stammered nonsensical grunts. The girl didn't seem to notice, or she didn't mind. "I'm Noïr," she told him.

"H-Husky," he managed to spit out. And as he stood there with the pretty girl, Noïr, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Cooro. He was cooped up in their hotel room, moping about…Husky. He had been cold and indifferent towards his best friend's attempts to merely help. It was a little…unfair that he was out having a good time.

"It was nice meeting you," he said, trying to get out of Noïr's grip. "But I've got to go check up on one of my friend's at our hotel."

As he said this and tried to walk away, he felt himself being tugged back. Turning his head, he came face-to-face with Noïr. She pulled him in even closer, and their lips locked. Husky's eyes went wide, and his pupils shrank to the size of a grain of sand.

Noïr's tongue was inhumanly inviting. It took al of the +Anima boy's willpower to disengage the kiss. Gasping, he tried to say something, but nothing came to mind.

"You can't leave yet!" the girl told him with a bit of a shocked expression.

"I'm sorry, but I have to!"

"Not yet…" Noïr looked close to tears. "Please…not yet…"

Husky hated girls, but he found himself unable to leave this poor girl standing and crying in the middle of the road. He had no choice but to stay. And, though he'd never admit it out loud, he kind of liked it.

Meanwhile, at the hotel, Cooro was busy wondering why Husky had seemed so distant. In fact, he could only half remember what had happened, since he had been half asleep at the time. He remembered asking the fish +Anima something, then Husky turning away and not answering. It was all so confusing…

The crow +Anima took another bite of the apple he held. He always seemed to think better when eating fruit, especially his favorite kind – apples.

As he chewed and began to swallow, a knock came at his door. Flecks of apple still on the side of his mouth, Cooro quickly finished swallowing and called, "Come in!"

The door began to creak open, until it was completely open, revealing the person out in the hall. "Hello once again, Cooro."

It was Zeke.


	4. The Confrontation

Zeke didn't appear very happy, but in that same light, he didn't appear mad. His pale green eyes showed only one thing – that he was quietly observing Cooro and the contents of the hotel room. A minute later, he stepped inside completely and slowly closed the door, letting it softly click into place.

Cooro, though wildly delighted at once again seeing his old friend, couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. His mind was jolted away from thoughts of Husky. Slowly, he got to his feet. "What are you doing here…?" Small beads of sweat rolled down the crow +Anima's forehead. He had another question on his mind. "…How did you get in here?"

With a giggle, Zeke replied, "Oh, I have my methods. Friends in low places, you know…" He advanced on Cooro, the slightly amused expression on his face not wavering for an instant. Cooro, however, kept backing up. For some reason, he didn't feel _safe_ – this was definitely not the Zeke he knew.

But Cooro's luck was about to run out. His eyes were locked upon the silver-haired boy closing in on him, and not on his backside. A moment later, he bumped into a wall, and could no longer move back. A small, scared noise burst forth from his throat.

One of Zeke's hands flew out, grasping Cooro's left and pinning it to the wall. The crow +Anima tried using his right hand to flail and get away, but it was wrestled against the wall as well. He could silently add 'trapped' to his list of current feelings.

Zeke leaned in so that his face was level with, and very close to, Cooro's. The beige-green eyes met the brown ones – one set had a fierce fire about them, and the other was afraid.

"Wh-what do you want?" Cooro asked him, trying his best to sound calm but failing miserably.

Laughing, Zeke leaned in even closer and delicately licked Cooro's cheek. The crow +Anima cringed at the odd, unfamiliar texture of his captor's tongue. "I want you."

* * *

Nana and Senri were still inside the dress shop, with the bat +Anima most likely trying on everything she saw for a prolonged amount of time. It was this that made time a bit distorted for Husky. He expected that the girl might take a few hours inside the store, so that's how he measured the time he was spending with Noïr.

The two found that they had very much in common. Both had a certain distrust of women, loved shiny objects, and didn't have a flair for dresses.

"They don't _just_ have dresses in there," Noïr explained, scooting a bit closer to Husky, who was next to her on the sidewalk. "They have pants, and tank tops, and…well…" She grinned. "Bras…" Husky didn't have a clue what a 'bra' was, so he did the smart thing and nodded and chuckled along with the girl.

He was so absorbed in conversation with her that he'd forgotten about checking on Cooro. That uneasy feeling came back to him, making him a bit queasy. A gloved hand automatically went to his head, steadying himself.

"Are you alright?" Noïr asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, it's just…" Husky shook his head, turning to the girl. "Look, I really need to go check on my friend at the hotel. But I'll be right back."

"You can't go!" she said in surprise.

But Husky got up, breaking whatever spell she had on him. "I'll be right back, Noïr. I promise! But I'm worried about him!"

Noïr bit her lip so hard that she began to bleed. "…Alright. I'll wait here."

That was all Husky needed. He turned and raced off, leaving Noïr all alone. The pretty girl went away, replaced with a scowling girl who had narrowing eyes and a vein popping in her forehead. Noïr got to her feet, her right hand curled into a shaking fist. "Shit."

* * *

"I want you to join me," Zeke explained. "On a great conquest."

Cooro did all he could to try and wrestle himself away from Zeke, but to no avail. The boy of 15 was so much stronger than the crow +Anima, and held him firmly in place. "You're not the Zeke I knew," he proclaimed. "What are you?"

With a grin, Zeke told him, "I am a liberator." Cooro was openly confused. "It is my duty to bring equality to the world – to +Anima like us.

"Fly wasn't unique," he continued. "Regular humans look at us, who have been gifted with Anima, and they scorn us. They cast us out. They push us down, torture us, persecute us, and hunt us. It's time that the +Anima were allowed to rise up and seize our day." Zeke's face became covered in an austere darkness. "That's where you come in.

"I want you to join our cause."

"O-our?" Cooro asked him, still scared witless.

"Yes. Me, Noïr, Tommy, Greta, more and more +Anima like us…We've all waited for the day when the +Anima can walk around with their heads held high."

"But…" Cooro protested. "Humans aren't all bad."

"Aren't all bad?" A nerve seemed to sever inside Zeke's head. "Humans are trash. They treat us like filth – all of them. Humans don't deserve their station." And though Zeke's apparent misanthropy was choking, it seemed to make sense to the crow +Anima.

"Will you join us?"

Indecision was written all over the captive boy's face. He didn't know what to do.

In fact, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Zeke was once again leaning forward. And before he knew what was happening, it was.

Zeke pushed his lips against Cooro's and let his tongue extend itself into the boy's mouth. And Cooro, amazingly, did nothing to fight back. He was powerless to do anything, and yet he sort of welcomed the kiss. And while he didn't know why, he did.

A moment later, Zeke pulled himself away, leaving a small bridge of saliva between his mouth and Cooro's. "…I think you should join us."

Cooro's brown eyes met Zeke's pale green ones. He replied, "…I'll join you."


	5. Duped

Husky was positive he'd run faster in his life – he just couldn't remember when.

The moment he'd started sprinting away from Noïr, his legs had melted into Jell-O. His head was rushing, racing even faster than he was – something just didn't feel right. And he had no idea what it could be.

But the feeling was nauseous and completely overwhelming. He had used a combination of Noïr's company and his own willpower to try and subdue it, but not even that had succeeded. At that point, he'd decided that ignoring the feeling was out of the question and he'd quickly said goodbye to the girl at the shop.

It had taken him only around five minutes to reach the hotel, but it felt like forever. In fact, it made Husky a bit confused. Never before had he had this sensation eddying around him – and while most everything would be unwelcome, he didn't mind this new feeling. The fear that Cooro was in trouble spurred him on. And it didn't heavily weigh on him, but it lifted his spirits a tiny bit. Perhaps it made him run faster.

Hurriedly, he threw open the hotel door and nearly tripped over his own legs in his rush. The boy stumbled forward and lost his balance, though thankfully right by the reception desk. The clerk eyed the boy before casually taking the cigarette out of his mouth. A hand swept through his unruly, greasy black hair, pulling it back far enough so that both of his brown eyes could see clearly.

The two stared at each other for a brief minute. Sighing, the clerk asked, "You need a room?"

Husky looked taken aback. "What do you mean?" he questioned, taking deep breaths to regain as much air as he could. "Me and my friends checked in yesterday – to Room 3."

The clerk shook his head. "No, you didn't. The key to Room 3's been hanging up all night and all through today." He pointed behind himself with his thumb. Husky looked past the clerk and saw that, indeed, the key to Room 3 was neatly hanging along with other keys.

"B-but that doesn't make sense!" Husky argued. "I'm positive we checked in yesterday! If you let me go to the room, I can-"

Unfortunately, his idea was cut short by the clerk leaning over and grasping the fish +Anima by the scruff of the neck. The clerk pulled Husky in close, and the boy was nearly overcome by the man's breath, which stank heavily of tobacco.

Through gritted yellow teeth, the clerk, sternly and barely containing fury, asked Husky, "You trying to cheat me out of a room, boy?" Without waiting for an answer, he lazily threw Husky to the floor. "Get out of my place, kid, and don't let me catch you coming back." And the clerk reinserted the cigarette into his mouth and watched Husky get to his feet, brush himself off, and retreat to the door.

Husky didn't wait for another painful prod from the hotel's clerk – he hastily opened the door and left. And he didn't even look back to see the triumphant grin on the clerk's face.

* * *

Husky definitely had a lot to think about during his return trip to the clothing store. Somehow, they'd lost their room, and that meant losing everything inside, which would undoubtedly trigger Nana's wrath. Next, the clerk had forgotten about them, which was extremely strange. Finally, Cooro would've had to be in the room, which would mean the clerk couldn't take the key away; and Cooro surely wouldn't have just let the key be taken away. None of it made any sense.

So he continued to trudge along the dirt road, considerably slower than usual. His hands were buried inside the pockets of his pants.

That was why he didn't have a way to defend himself when Nana flung herself onto him. He was knocked to the ground, hitting his head rather hard on the road. Of course, the bat +Anima on top of Husky didn't notice (or care). "Husky, Husky, it's horrible!"

Annoyed at the behavior of the girl, Husky replied, "Your dress?" This remark got the boy a stinging slap across his cheek.

"No, you idiot! It's about Cooro!" If Husky had had cat ears, they'd have immediately perked up, and he would've had to explain how he was cold on a sunny morning. But he didn't, so his eyebrows only raised themselves half an inch.

"What about him…?"

"It's horrible!" Nana repeated. "Senri and I were coming out of the store (where I got a couple lovely new outfits, do you want to see them or perhaps try them on?) when we saw Cooro walking up the road with that Zeke guy. We headed them off because we thought they were coming to the store. But Cooro just shoved us out of the way, told us to get lost, and ran off!"

"And you just _let_ him?!" the fish +Anima nearly shrieked.

Senri shook his head, while Nana provided the vocal half of the reply. "Of course not! When we tried to go after him, Zeke and this girl blocked us until Cooro was gone!"

"…G-girl…?" Husky gulped. "W-what did she look like…?"

With a laugh, Nana snorted. "Ugly! I mean, she wasn't even wearing a dress! Just these short, tacky jeans and a blue tank top. Pah! Apparently, Zeke's friends have no sense of fashion whatsoever."

But Husky was too completely stunned to even hear anything after 'top.' His eyes had gone small as his fear was confirmed – Noïr had been helping that no-good Zeke. But…why? What could she possibly gain from helping him steal Cooro?

It took a moment for Husky to get his senses back. Nana was still ranting about Noïr's ghastly fashion sense when she was interrupted. "Look, Nana, I don't really care," Husky told her. He proceeded to quickly inform his two friends about what happened at the hotel.

"Not good…" Senri said.

"Damn right," Husky told him. "Something strange is going on."

"Check up," Senri replied.

And somehow, both Husky and Nana knew what he was getting at. At almost the same time, they turned around and ran as fast as they could back towards the hotel. It didn't take too long to arrive.

Husky kicked open the door, which would've easily opened had he simply pushed on it with his pinky finger. "Hey, what's the big idea?!" he screamed.

There was no one at the receptionist's desk to hear him.

"Damn…" The fish +Anima it his lip. "Let's search the entire thing until we find the guy who gave us the key."

* * *

About an hour later, all three had finished searching. It had broken Nana's heart to enter room 3 and discover all their belongings gone. Husky and Senri had fared just about as well. They convened in the foyer with woe-stricken looks on their faces. They'd searched the entire hotel, every nook and cranny, down to the smallest mouse hole.

But the clerk was nowhere to be found.


	6. The Leaders of a Revolution

"Husky…Why do you get so emotional when it comes to Cooro…?"

Nana's question had been innocent enough – she was merely concerned for her (sometimes rather bashful) friend, as the fish +Anima didn't regularly have existential breakdowns. He was practically slumped on the sidewalk, taking in deep gulps of air and barely holding back tears. It was probably the lowest point the other two +Anima had ever seen him at.

The gasps slowed, but Husky's breathing did not. He turned his head so that he could stare the bat +Anima in the eyes. What did she mean…?

"Is it because…you love him…?" Nana admitted that she had kept this suspicion to herself for a long time. She'd just never had the courage, nor the audacity, to bring it up aloud. After the incident where she believed Husky was female (the source of her conclusion that Husky loved Cooro), she'd decided never to delve into his personal life again. In the emotion of the moment, though, she had forgotten.

Husky's eyes widened and his face went red. "O-Of course not! That's disgusting!" he shouted before collapsing back to the earth.

Thoughts swirled around his head like a great hurricane. _Do I really love him…? _Husky himself had been wrestling with this idea. In all honesty, the image of him kissing Cooro hadn't failed to give him an aversion yet. But the other boy was so damned attractive and, really, Cooro truly cared for the fish +Anima. There were a million times Husky would've told himself to screw off – but Cooro hadn't done that. Being raised in a circus, Husky had never had that sort of companionship. _I just don't know…_

But there were things he did know. And they were haunting him. _It's all your fault. If you had been a better friend to Cooro, he wouldn't have run away. If you'd warned him about Zeke, then Zeke wouldn't have been able to manipulate Cooro. And if you had a damn head on your shoulders, you wouldn't have been distracted by Noïr, if that's her real name._

Senri and Nana were at a loss for what to do. Their friend had clutched his head, and was rolling from side to side, one step away from having a total epileptic seizure. The tears were rolling down his cheeks, something neither had seen in so very long.

_Everything's gone all wrong!_ Husky shouted inside his mind. _None of this was supposed to happen! The four of us were supposed to be happy, not split apart! And I'm to blame! _The idyllic vision he had once had, of the four +Anima living together as a family, was blurred and fraying at the seams. Before his eyes, the happy ending he had guaranteed himself and his friends was falling apart.

_It's my fault…It's my fault…_

* * *

Miles upon miles upon miles away, no one believed it was Husky's fault. In fact, no one paid any attention to his existence.

They paid attention to Cooro. He stood in the middle of a dark room, surrounded by a circle of candles sitting on stools. The small wicker flames illuminated the crow +Anima's face, and not much more than that. The shadowy glints of the eyes that stared at him were the only other things that penetrated the darkness.

"Welcome, chosen one." Zeke's voice was full of life and volume, enthusiasm and charisma. "You have been heralded by others of your kind to lead +Anima to the dawning of a new day. Your charge cannot be refused – do you accept it?"

And Cooro nodded with vigor. Zeke had explained everything to him – it was his destiny to help destroy the dregs of organic life: the humans who were jealous of the +Anima and who persecuted them for their powers. People like Fly deserved the hell they were aiming for.

"We are your allies, the top tier of this new world hierarchy. Come out and introduce yourselves to the newest ray of light upon this bleak world." His voice died away as footsteps echoed towards the crow +Anima.

The girl who came out into the light had dark brown hair and a smooth face dotted with only a few freckles. Her eyes reminded Cooro of the ocean, which reminded him of…Without moving, he shook the thought from his head; Husky wasn't on their side. There were also some other choice features on her body – namely, the whiskers growing out of her cheeks and the alabaster tail extending down her legs.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," the girl told him. "Zeke's told me all about you." Her smile was anything but genuine – in fact, it seemed forced, as if to say _back off_. She reached out and took his hand in hers, shaking it with blatant dislike. "The name's Noïr – that's "noi-ear." Don't you forget it." A small claw pricked the back of Cooro's hand.

She waited for a weak, apprehensive nod from Cooro before she disappeared back into the shadows, her expression a total mystery.

Next, from the crow +Anima's left, came another familiar face. This man was tall, with shaggy black hair and a let cigarette clenched between his two front teeth. It was undoubtedly the clerk from the hotel; the one Zeke had given the room's key to. While he gained no grandeur, being surrounded by nothing but candles made the man seem much more intimidating. Cooro thought the man could not be any more intimidating than when he was given his task by Zeke – to keep the other three +Anima Cooro had traveled with out of their hair.

The man went into a small squat, until he was more level with the boy's head (but still above it). He extended a hand towards Cooro, and when the boy took it, he felt bumps along the man's arm. In fact, without a desk in front of him, the clerk's long, bulky, scaled tail was easily noticed.

As he shook Cooro's hand, the hotel's clerk said, "It's nice to meet you without your old company. I'm Tommy."

Looking past Tommy's figure, Cooro could see another girl standing near a candle. She had the look of someone who'd just seen a ghost on her face – nervousness, fear, surprise…Her eyes were cast partly at him, partly at the floor. The green spheres were full of apprehension, and…Cooro couldn't place the other emotion. Perhaps it was dejection…?

He didn't have anymore time to contemplate the odd girl, as she had disappeared behind the veil of shadow. Tommy once again shook the crow +Anima's hand enthusiastically before returning to his full height and stepping away. And for a minute or so, it was completely still...

…Which was why Cooro was visibly stunned when two thin, lithe objects fell over his shoulders and down onto his chest. Upon regaining his senses, he took a moment to examine the objects. They looked eerily like scythe blades, but were silver with green linings. What could they possibly be…?

His question was mostly answered when he felt someone's body up against his own. He swore he felt himself being tugged backwards, into the waist of the person behind him. There was a stifled gasp of breath, barely audible, before the air in the room returned to normal.

"Well, you have met the leaders of our operation…" Zeke's voice was unmistakable, especially being right next to Cooro's ear. The boy's hot breath tickled the flesh on Cooro's neck. "You are the final piece of the puzzle. Now we may begin." He leaned in and quickly nibbled on the crow +Anima's ear; there was a "humph!" from somewhere in the darkness.

When he was done, Zeke continued. "I hope you get plenty of rest over the next few days. There is one thing I must attend to. But in a week, we will claim our rightful place."

There were multiple gusts of breath from all sides of the room. In one glorious moment, the candles were snuffed, and the world – to Cooro, at least – was completely awash in shadow.


	7. To Understand a Friend

Sorry it's been so long without an update! I've just been terribly busy with school and theater, and haven't been able to find time to do much of anything. But I finally sat myself down (because I have an off day tomorrow!) and finished a chapter of Siege of Astaria. Hopefully this'll get me started back up, since this is the last week of theater for now. I really do want to finish up these fics and get to some more that are in the works right now.

So, here you all go!

* * *

"H-Husky…! Please…!"

The crow +Anima's shrieks nearly fell upon deaf ears. For all the volume his screams and pleas contained, few things at the moment could penetrate Husky's head. The silver haired boy stared at Cooro as though his friend was thin and transparent as air – _was _air. But Cooro was the center of Husky's attention, and his sharp eyes missed no detail, however minute it may have been.

He studied the curves of the boy's exposed upper body; the radiant tan skin; the face that had to have been carved by angels; those striking, beautiful brown eyes that were dark as cocoa, brighter than midmorning oak, and smooth as chocolate.

Those eyes…they absolutely drove Husky mad. It had to be criminal for orbs so beautiful to be imprisoned, no matter how magnificent a prison it might've been.

"It's so cold…!"

Up until that point, Husky had only subconsciously realized that the crow +Anima was stark naked. Now, though, that he blinked and pulled himself back down to the ground, it was all too obvious. His face went a deep shade of red, and he instinctively raised a hand to cover his features; the move did little to help, however, as his entire body was slowly turning from pale to bright pink. All the while, his eyes were locked into place, unable to avert their view from Cooro's lower body. Those hips were a Michelangelo sculpture, a perfect display of craftsmanship.

But it was the boy's nether regions that caught Husky's major attention. It was on full display, and no amount of Cooro shivering could detract from the scene. The fish +Anima had a mind to just reach out there and grasp it in his own hand, to feel it if only for a moment, to find out the true meaning of pleasure; his heart skipped a beat.

Just as his hand was about to shoot out, Husky thought that Cooro was his best friend. What was he doing, reaching out at his _best friend's _exposed…Husky couldn't bear to utter the body part's name. But it was there, so slender, so absolutely _there for the taking_…

His hand did shoot out, but the silver haired boy redirected its path with a tremendous mental energy. Instead of closing in on Cooro's pelvis, the hand reached around the boy's neck.

"H-Husky…?"

Somewhere in Husky's mind, a hazy voice told him that he wasn't wearing any gloves, so what else didn't he have on? And misty vision told him that he, like his friend, wore nothing. But at that moment, Husky didn't care what his senses warned.

One tug was all it took to get Cooro off balance; the raven haired boy tumbled forward, right into Husky's chest. The silver haired boy bent his head down, shimmering eyes the size of dinner plates; his heart was playing symphonies under his skin. Husky pushed his nose into the mass of black hair atop his friend's head, and inhaled sharply. The smell was pungently sweet, some sort of mix between winter mint and the spray of the ocean. Whatever it may have been, Husky was sure that it was the greatest scent his nose had ever picked up. This time, as he inhaled, he made sure to progress slowly and carry all of the scent with him.

Cooro's hands were clenching into fists, holding onto Husky's bare chest for support. Husky's cool hands wrapped around his friend's back, caressing the boy's spine with lithe, teasing fingers.

In milliseconds, calm night air swept around Husky, surrounding him, engulfing him, and eventually blinding him. The boy called out in surprise, wondering why night had fallen so fast. A moment later, he realized he couldn't feel Cooro's frame against his own.

The next thing he knew, Husky was bolting up in his sleeping bag, sweat running profusely down his forehead and back. The boy held a fist up near his chest, breathing heavily. He let his eyelids droop for a second or two, then slowly reopened them. Nighttime and the cover of the tent encompassed his vision; the rhythmic breathing of Senri and Nana, along with merry crickets, were the only noises he perceived.

Sighing discontentedly, Husky reclined slightly against his pillow. Once again, it had all been a dream – and one that he had quite often, at that. Had his head been straight on his shoulders, he might've been able to guess that the experience was all his imagination.

But what did the dreams mean? If the things he saw when he dreamed were fake, then what about the emotions? Were those feelings raw? Or were they merely elements of the dream that wanted only to haunt the boy?

"I need to think this over…" Husky mused to himself, slowly and carefully removing the sleeping bag from over his body. He quite enjoyed wearing pajamas (something he would never admit to certain people, namely the likes of Nana) and had to be extra quiet because the slightest rustle would give him away. Even if the back of his pajamas were sticking to his skin, that didn't mean the legs couldn't brush up against one another, and he would have a hard time coming up with an explanation Nana would buy as to why he was sneaking out of the tent.

Husky proceeded to crawl out of the tent, zip up the front flap, and venture out into the meadow. After all day traveling from the town where the group of friends had lost Husky, they'd found an abandoned camping spot and decided to spend the night there. They were headed for the capital city, hoping that they might find some help. Husky moaned at the idea, because he already knew who that help would turn out to be: Igneous, captain of the guard, and it was no secret that all four disliked each other.

After walking for a few minutes, Husky came upon his personal destination: a small pool, a bit detached from the dirt path and heated to the perfect temperature for relaxation. The fish +Anima sighed; it was no hard task to get used to the comfort the pool offered. Normally, he wouldn't get excited over water (since he spent a lot of time in it), but the water he usually traveled in was cold and salty.

After wrestling his shirt off, and undoing his pants, and throwing them to the side, Husky slipped down into the refreshing water. Now a guy could get used to this…

Minutes passed, and more minutes passed, before Husky finally got around to what he meant to do: mull over his odd dreams. Now, he admitted to himself, he had always found Cooro cute, but in that kitten sort of way; you just wanted to pet it and hear it purr. Only recently, the thought of kissing Cooro had entered, rather rudely invaded in Husky's opinion, the silver haired boy's conscience. It was completely random.

But, maybe not so much…Was it weird for a guy to find another guy, no matter how cute, attractive? Husky was positive that he wasn't gay, but…

Husky went over everything in his head. The images of kissing Cooro, of getting tongue from the boy, signaled an immediate aversion in the fish +Anima. But his heart cheered whenever he watched Cooro moving his body or taking clothes off. There was also the fact that Husky had a deep distrust of women, and his only solace came from men. Likewise, Cooro was the only one who truly understood the fish +Anima; no one had really ever tried.

Everything considered, Husky really didn't know anymore.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Startled, Husky whipped around and looked up on the pool's bank to see Nana standing in the moonlight. She was still wearing her black satin nightgown, and her body hung in a tired stance, but she had a bit of a concerned look on her face. "You weren't in the tent."

For some reason, Husky smirked. "Were you just checking up to see if I really am a guy?" He knew that the bat +Anima had gotten over the suspicion a long time ago, but the memory still made her blush the color of a watermelon. After he'd had his little bit of fun, Husky sighed. "I was just…thinking…"

"What about…?"

"A dream…" Husky didn't intend to take it any further than that.

"What was your dream about…?"

The fish +Anima's eyes met with the bat +Anima's, and Husky immediately turned away. His cheeks were tinged light scarlet, and his jaw twitched. "You wouldn't understand. You're a girl." Under normal circumstances, this remark would've gotten him a well-deserved smack across both cheeks. But, that night, Nana was feeling rather troubled herself, and didn't wish to take it out on someone like Husky (besides, wasn't his terrible taste in fashion punishment enough?).

She squatted down near the grass, which seemed to glow blue in the light of the moon, and told her friend, "I might understand if you told me."

"Forget about it." It wasn't necessarily what Husky wanted to say, but he'd been put on the defensive. After mumbling to himself a moment more, he grumbled, "If you come and heat up in the pool, I could try and tell you."

"No way. Why don't you come up here and tell me? The bare truth, no more walls."

Husky's eyes softened. He believed that it would be impossible to explain to someone with an attention span like Nana's what he felt. But, well…she was trying, and hell, it was worth a shot. So Husky pushed himself up out of the pool and got comfortable (or as comfortable as possible without the heated water enveloping him) before beginning.


	8. The Shadowy Balcony

"Well, well, well. What are we doing down in the dungeons…?"

Cooro jumped with a small start; he hadn't realized he was being watched. After regaining his composure, he turned and saw Noïr leaning up against one of the cell doors. The pale yellow from the torchlight swam across her face, which was forcing itself not to contort in anger. Her tail whipped around viciously, striking the steel bars with a sharp "clang!" With her arms crossed in front of her chest, she pushed off of the cell and strolled up to the crow +Anima.

This girl was the vision of danger. It didn't take much for Cooro to realize this; once he did, he went on the defensive. "Zeke told me I could come down here."

Noïr scoffed with disdain. "Gonna ask Zeke if you're allowed to breathe?" She came closer and closer to Cooro, almost enough to reach out and grab him. "I don't like all the attention you're getting from him."

Her statement was confusing to Cooro. "W-why shouldn't I talk with him? We're allies."

Throwing her head back in an evil laugh, Noïr replied, "Allies, yes. Lovers, no."

Heat rose up to Cooro's cheeks, and his entire face began to glow red. "N-no, that's not how it is!" He threw his arms up to reinforce his point. It had little effect, at most, because while Noïr stopped cackling, she brought her joy down to a small, menacing giggle. A dainty index finger held itself against the girl's lips; her whiskers danced.

"The way you two've been acting, that's what you'd think. At least, Zeke's got the hots for you." Upon noticing the mystified expression on the boy's face, a blend of embarrassment and confusion, she elaborated. "Oh, come on – you'd have to be an idiot to not notice all the advancements he's been making on you." Rather rudely.

The crow +Anima rapidly shook his head.

"Look, I'm not asking you to betray us or anything." The words Noïr spoke could be misconstrued as comforting had one not looked at her face, and the sardonic smile her lips were forming. In a second, she lashed out at Cooro, grabbing his wrist with her strong right hand. Heaving the boy backwards, she slammed him into the cell wall, which was unfortunately made of bars. Cooro cried out before being silenced by a hand on his forehead.

Noïr's eyes were full of repressed hatred. Leaning into Cooro's ear, she whispered in a menacing tone, "Stay away from Zeke – he's _mine_."

Then, her point being made, the mouse +Anima let the boy go. She turned on her heel and walked away as if nothing had happened. Wordlessly, she disappeared.

The crow +Anima didn't, though. He merely sat on the stone floor, thinking. Maybe he'd known all along that Zeke was attracted to him, but he was trying to deny it for reasons unknown. The crow +Anima sighed – he didn't want anything to interfere with his friend's plans. If the brown-haired girl wanted him to keep away from Zeke, then keep away he would.

"Are you alright…?"

Cooro looked up and saw a girl he'd never seen before. Actually, hold on…He had seen her face before, but only once. When he was being introduced to everyone, she'd stood behind Tommy and said nothing. Now, the black-haired girl was sanding over him with a small clay bowl of water and a rag. Her emerald eyes were large and glistening, but were also shaking and not making contact with Cooro's.

The girl's frail frame sat down next to Cooro. Her bleak gray dress rubbed against the floor as she did, creating a weak rustle. Still, though, she refused to make eye contact. "I…I heard you and Noïr…" she said quietly. Before anything else happened, she offered the bowl and rag to Cooro. "I was going to clean for Zeke, but if you need it…" Her voice was like a whisper on the wind, soft and clear but impossibly quiet.

The boy didn't quite know what to do. He uncertainly reached out and took the bowl from the girl, and did nothing but stare at it.

"Noïr comes off as fiery, but she's really nice…" the girl continued. "You just need to spend more time around her, so she'll get accustomed to you…"

Cooro stared at his own reflection in the water. "She said Zeke was hers…I'm not trying to steal him away…"

"I believe you…" the girl answered. "But lately, I haven't been able to tell exactly what our leader's thinking. He obsesses over Noïr, and now he's doing the same thing to you…" She sighed. "Sometimes I wish he'd just acknowledge me…" Cooro leaned over and peered inquisitively into the girl's eyes – they were full of longing and regret, glimmering with the glossy signal of tears.

The girl shook her head away from the thoughts in her head. The two proceeded to sit in a noiseless, awkward silence.

Finally, Cooro spoke up. "My name's Cooro…"

"I know…" the girl breathed. "I was there when Zeke introduced you." Now she turned full front to face the crow +Anima; her eyes persisted, and she didn't look him in the eyes. "I'm Greta." She extended a trembling hand towards the boy. Before he took it, he noticed there were small black spots on her skin, which was a strange shade of golden, completely different from the light the torches were giving off. When they did shake hands, Greta seemed to smile a tiny bit.

If she had, it was gone in a flash. She grabbed the bowl and rag away from Cooro, hurriedly leaving with a quick, "Goodbye" barely getting out. Her soft footsteps were gone less than a minute after she left.

Cooro was left to his own devices, but his thoughts were clogged with Noïr and getting revenge against humans. His eyelids were getting heavier by the second, and soon he had drifted off into a blissful world where humans didn't exist, and the only person that mattered was a pretty boy with bluish-silver hair and large aquamarine eyes.

And no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't put a name on the boy.

* * *

The shadows obscured Zeke expertly, but it wasn't like anyone was going to glance up to the balcony. From his third-story vantage point, he could scout out the capital city's entire central square with relative ease.

Members of the infantry were all around, so the +Anima had to be careful. Nothing would come from drawing unnecessary attention to himself, but it might be unavoidable. After all, he had to find the girl he had met a few years ago.

She still owed him for nearly taking his head off.

What Zeke remembered was that she frequented the capital city, being a thief and all. Just her and her little brother, which made them the ideal prey. The only hard part of his plan was _finding _them; thieves were renowned for hiding themselves.

"Where are you, pestilent woman…? I don't have forever to wait…" His eyes continued to scan; they wanted to droop, and it was all the +Anima could do to stop them.

"You wouldn't be talking about me, now, would you?"

Startled, Zeke whirled around and was faced by two people – one was a small boy with a baby face and shoulder-length scarlet hair. The one who'd spoken, a woman, was tall and wore gloves; her nails were long and curved like claws; her hair was also scarlet. When Zeke assimilated this, he couldn't help but smile.

"Look at that…Just the person I was looking for…" The woman smirked sarcastically and tilted her head to the side. "…Rose."


	9. Employment

"What are you doing in the capital city?" Rose questioned rather harshly. The way her eyes narrowed, in complete and utter resentment, made Zeke smirk.

"I should ask you the same thing," he replied. "What business does a thief like yourself have in what is soon to be _my _dominion?" He focused on the child standing next to the girl. "And with your little brother, no less." His gaze returned to Rose, who took a step back, retching. "My, my. You really should have a lot on your conscience; you're being a terrible role model to such a young, malleable mind."

"Pah!" Rose hissed at him, sending saliva flying from between her front teeth. "Like you're one to talk!"

"How so?" Zeke eyed the girl carefully, noting the fact that she seemed to be almost bubbling over with rage. _Perfect_, he though. _Now that she's so vulnerable, I can work my magic. _Opening his arms wide, Zeke continued. "Are you sure you're not angry at me just because of that little thing we had?"

That did it – a sort of mist painted over Rose's eyes. She appeared to falter, slowly listing to the left. Her little brother looked up to her in concern; Zeke looked at her in anticipation.

"N-no! O-of course not!" The cat +Anima quickly exclaimed after recovering. "A-and besides, it wasn't little!"

"Oh? It wasn't?" Suddenly, the evil Zeke had disappeared into thin air. Instead, what stood there was a kind-hearted, silver-haired boy with an angelic smile. "I'd forgotten. But your face brings it all back. Such sweet memories….Don't you remember how it was?"

Rose was very mature, and she was, by no means, stupid. She knew exactly what Zeke was doing; he'd done it on their very first date. _Our first date…He was so debonair that night, and his hair was perfect and smiled of tropical fruits….We linked arms and drank our – no, bad Rose! Don't fool yourself, he's – but look at him, all cute and…and he wants to make up! Argh, what am I doing?! _

The girl's inner turmoil was taking a toll on her physical self. She was shaking all over, her teeth were chattering, and sweat was running down her forehead. "P-please, Zeke…Don't do this…"

However, Zeke defied her and moved forward. Underneath the gentle expression he wore, his eyes were blazing triumphantly. _Oh, Rose…You picked the wrong +Anima to mess with. Now, let's see what I can take from you…._ Each step closer to the girl made her twitch in an even more uncontrollable fashion. She tried to step away from him, but found that her legs could take her nowhere. Her little brother clung to her even tighter as the menacing +Anima came ever nearer. "If only I'd known how you felt…how you cherished it…." Zeke began to shove Rose on a guilt trip. "How dearly you held our time together…If I had but only known, I never would have left." Making sure his eyes gleamed with fake tears, he told her, "Can you blame a confused soul for misreading love?"

_No, Rose! You can't let him – but he said love…Does he truly still feel that way towards me? I must know…No! Rose! Get a grip on yourself! You know he's nothing but a – but listen to him. He's being so honest…. _Slowly, Rose started to open up and her contorted body began returning to its normal shape and stance. A smile adorned her lips, and a light seemed to grow around her. "Zeke…" She was close to tears. "I feel the same. I was a fool when I had you – can you forgive me?"

Even though he'd nearly perfected his manipulative skills, Zeke could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was so easy! But he couldn't let up yet – no, there was still one matter to attend to. So, wearing his carefully crafted mask, he stepped closer and closer. "No, I'm the one in need of forgiveness. These past years, I've torn my heart up because there was…this hole in it. A gaping hole that was made when I left you. If you only pardon me, then I believe it will fill up and I can be whole once again."

And, now more than ever, Rose appeared the vision of happiness. Stars were in her gleaming eyes; her lips were quavering because tears were on their way. _Good grief, she's thick! _Zeke was almost in hysterics as he reached the girl and her outstretched arms, clutching for an embrace. And he almost there, almost in her pool of forgiveness – Rose sighed dreamily. Perhaps this was the moment she'd been waiting for her entire life….

However, something odd happened. One instant, Zeke was there, about to hug her. The next, though, he was out of sight. Confused, Rose shook her head around to try and get back to reality. What was going on? People, even +Anima, didn't just vanish. He had to be there some where….

Just then, faint cries entered her ears. The voice that made them sounded so familiar, but where were they coming from? Blinking, Rose tried to adjust and figure out just what was happening. And a few moments later, after turning a small bit, she spotted Zeke. But he wasn't the only one in view. In his hand, he was holding someone by the back of the shirt…it looked like a small boy with red….

Like glass shattering, Rose came completely back to the situation at hand. Although now, the stakes had been raised – Zeke was holding her little brother by the shirt and didn't look about to let him go.

"Pinion!" Rose screamed. "What did you do? Let him go!" She raced at Zeke, only to be knocked back by one of his legs. The woman sprawled out on the stone floor as Zeke smiled and Pinion let out a small cry.

Moaning, Rose lifted her head to look at Zeke; he was grinning wildly. "Ha! Women are so easy to manipulate!" he declared with a laugh. "You don't have any sense about you, and always let your emotions take control! It's pathetic but so damn funny!" He made his point by laughing even more, and slapping his leg as a jest just to make sure.

"Wh-what do you want with him…?" Rose breathed. She would do anything to get Pinion back.

Unfortunately for her, this was something Zeke knew. "Oh, it's not _really _him I'm after." Upon seeing the bewildered, puzzled expression on Rose's face, his grin widened. "I want you." But he paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, truth be told, it's more of your skills."

"What do you want with my skills?" Rose asked him in the most furious voice she could muster at the moment. She attempted to spit at him, but couldn't build up enough force to stop it from merely running down her lips.

"Ha ha ha…! You know that I know just how good of a thief you happen to be," he explained. "I want to put this to my use."

"You mean control me?"

"No, no, never!" Zeke smiled. "I want to employ you."

Rose almost barked at him. "Employing me means that you'll pay me."

Nodding, Zeke told her, "And I have every intention to. If you meet my demands, then you can have your little brother back." He held Pinion out, swinging him back and forth so that the cat +Anima could get a good look at him. And the boy seemed to be very scared and unsure of the situation, which flared Rose's sisterly instincts.

"Please!" She tried reaching her arm out to the child, but she could only go so far. "Please, let him go!"

"If you get what I want, I'll be more than happy to."

"Fine! What do you want?!"

Zeke bent down so that he was more at eyelevel with Rose. "Simple." But something about his demented smile made Rose believe that this wasn't going to be easy. "We're in the capital city, so this shouldn't be too hard. I want you to break into the palace and steal the interior map." When he saw the disgusted expression on Rose's face, he decided to cement his plan. "Well, if you don't want to, I guess I'll just leave with your brother…."

As he started to walk away, and heard Rose's shouts for him to stop, he knew that he'd succeeded. Nonetheless, he turned back with an almost hopeful expression on his face. "Yes…?"

Breathing heavily, Rose finally told Zeke, "Alright. You win. But once I get that map, how do I find you…?"

This one took a little thought on Zeke's part. He hadn't exactly thought that one up. "Okay…How about in, say, five days, you meet me back up here. And you'd best have the map with you."

"You…" Rose gasped out. "You have to promise that you won't hurt my brother – at all!"

"Alright, alright. I promise. Well, for now, it was nice doing business with you." Zeke stepped back into the shadows, still carrying Pinion, and was gone. Rose felt herself try to get up, but then she fell flat on her stomach once again.

"Pinion…"

* * *

Cooro was walking down the hall of Zeke's base when he met up with the shaggy black-haired man with the cigarette clenched in his teeth. As they passed, the crow +Anima took a closer look at the man's tail. It was a dark, forest green with spikes and scales. It swished as it traveled the floor.

"Excuse me…?"

The man stopped, turning around to face the boy. Tommy pushed hair out of his face and asked with a smile, "Yes?"

"What kind of +Anima are you?"

At first, Tommy had a bit of an astonished look on his face. But it soon melted away into a smirk. "You know, it isn't exactly polite to just come out and say something like that. But since you must know, I'm a crocodile +Anima. Got it when I was in the swamps, swimming for my life from a bunch of piranhas." He licked his lips. "And boy did they taste good when I ate them." For a moment, he flashed his curved yellow fangs at Cooro before stalking off in the direction he was originally going.

Cooro stayed still for a moment, thinking about Tommy. His story rang a bell in his head, but he couldn't tell what. Something about…a boy, with silver hair, maybe blue…But why was he thinking those things? And why was that boy always appearing in his dreams?

Shaking his head to try and rid himself of the odd thoughts, the boy continued down the hall. Minutes later, as he was approaching a large oak door, he heard something. In fact, it was the door opening.

Zeke entered, holding a scarlet-haired boy in his left hand. Scowling, he tossed the boy to the ground. "We'll see what your sister has to say when she gets back," he said in a frightening tone. "I don't easily forget things, like how she nearly got me killed when we were dating. Pah! I can't believe I had to do that…." Eyes flaring, he told the small boy, "You seem like the perfect candidate to take my wrath out on….But I'm tired from all this…." His eyes shot over to Cooro.

"Cooro!" The crow +Anima stood up straight. "Take the runt down to the dungeon and lock him up tight. I'll deal with him later." As Cooro nodded, Zeke walked away down a different hallway, holding his forehead.

The crow +Anima then looked at the small child, whose big eyes were on the verge of tears. But Zeke had ordered him locked up, so Cooro grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck and drug him towards the dungeon.


	10. To Igneous

"Captain Igneous is currently at his residence," the soldier said with a blank look on his face, eyes blinking. "Why do you inquire?"

"We need to talk to him," Nana explained. "Are you sure he isn't here?"

"No, miss, he's at his residence."

"We don't know where that is. Could you tell us?"

"I'm sorry, miss, but I have been ordered by the Captain to keep his whereabouts confidential. If you'd like, you may ask him yourself when he returns." The soldier waved a hand at Nana. "Miss, I beg your pardon, but would you mind vacating the premises? Children shouldn't be on the castle grounds at the best of times; it's far too suspicious. As always, though, have a nice day and don't forget to enjoy your stay in the capital city." With a yawn, the solider shooed Nana all the way across the wooden drawbridge to the front gardens of the palace.

Husky and Senri stood waiting on the cobblestone street. The silver-haired boy impatiently tapped his foot and glared at the girl as she came walking back in a dejected fashion. "So…?" he asked through clenched teeth, already knowing by the way Nana was returning that things had not gone as planned.

Sighing, she told him in a timid voice, "He's not there?"

"What do you mean, 'not there'?!" Husky asked her in an aggravated voice. "You didn't even go take a look inside! All you did was chat with the guard out front!"

"I know!" Nana replied, her eyes large and fluctuating. She raised a fist to her nose in an attempt to stop herself from crying at the fish +Anima's outburst. Still, she'd not accustomed herself to his fiery disposition and when he was automatically angry with her, it made her feel inadequate. Normally, she would block out those feelings with a well-deserved slap to his cheek, but…. With everything that had been happening recently, nothing anyone did was exactly normal. "But he said Igneous was at his…'residence'!"

"And that would be…where?" Husky crossed his arms, continuing to tap his foot. His eyes drilled into Nana's. "Well?"

Shaking her head rapidly, Nana told him, "I don't know! The soldier up there wouldn't tell me!" Husky raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry I didn't help out at all!"

Heat was rising into Husky's face; his cheeks started to flush red from frustration. Unfortunately, there was only one person at the moment he had the luxury of taking his fury out on. "Nana! I told you that-!"

But he stopped because a hand was resting on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw that Senri had a concerned look in his eyes. The Kim-Un-Kur shook his head, eyes closing, lips curling into a frown. "Enough," he said with a straight-to-the-point tone. It was obvious that he didn't enjoy seeing his friends fight. After his interjection, Husky had time to cool down and collect himself. Why, in fact, was he mad at Nana? She'd done everything she could've without breaking into the palace (and that wouldn't have fared well, seeing as how she got caught by Igneous in his _tent_) and was blaming herself.

With a heavy sigh, he changed his attitude. "Don't worry about it," he said. "We'll find him some other way." Nana blinked through her tears. Hadn't he just been mad at her for failing to get Igneous? Then why was he being so dismissive of everything? It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but…there was this sensation inside the bat +Anima. She felt heat of her own rising to her head. It was making her particularly woozy. Eyes rolling up into her head, she felt herself fall to the grass.

When she came to a few moments later, she felt something on her back. And…she couldn't feel the ground. It was beyond shocking, and caused her to spread her wings and wildly flap them. "Hey! Hey! Whoa!"

Who was that shouting? Nana slowly stopped flapping her wings and took the time to see where she was. The scenery hadn't changed; she was still on the front lawn of the palace. But where she was had to have…When her eyes locked onto the two gloved arms holding her up off the ground, then the glowing blue eyes of Husky, she felt herself almost go limp again. He was right there, holding her, and…_Oh, no._

Hoping against hope that those were just fleeting reactions to being picked up, she rolled out of Husky's arms. Landing on the grass, she quickly got to her feet and dusted herself off. "Umm…Nana…?" Husky asked her timidly; she shot him a nasty look, to which he gulped and backed up. "Are you…okay?"

"Fine, never been better!" she snapped at him, though this was mostly defensive on her part (not that she had to let him know). "Now come on! We need to find this Igneous guy and get him to help us!" Assuming her usual position of leader of the group and of obviously superior gender, she motioned to Husky and Senri to follow. The two boys stared at each other in confusion. "C'MON!" got them to quickly run after Nana, though.

They hadn't gone more than a block, though, when someone ever so rudely stepped out in front of Nana. She barely noticed before running into that person and falling to the ground. "Ow!" She got up, rubbing her butt, tears lingering on her eyelids. Shaking her head, she nearly shouted, "Hey, watch it! I can't ruin my good clothes! You should…watch where…you're…are you even listening to me?"

But the woman in front of Nana paid her no attention. She had her sights set forward from under the black hood. A black poncho was draped around the woman's body, even though the weather was rather nice. Nana stared ahead at the figure, who was quite a sight to see; it was nothing less than suspicious. However, the woman in the poncho wasn't in the least bit interested in who had knocked into her. In seconds, Nana had decided to remedy that situation.

Raising her arms, she let out a shrill scream and extended her bat wings to their full length. And that was enough to shock the woman in the poncho. She stumbled back, only barely keeping her footing but letting her hood fall off her head.

As Husky and Senri rushed forward, they saw the hood lower to reveal someone they remembered far too well. "Rose!" But not for bad reasons.

Rose appeared quite flustered. She drew the poncho tightly around her body, but forced a smile to her lips. "Oh! Nana! You gave me a scare. Husky and Senri are here, too!" Her eyes scanned over the three of them again. "…Where's Cooro?"

Husky's eyes shot to the ground; he wore a pained expression on his face. This caused Rose to assume the worst. "Oh…Oh, I see…. I'm terribly sorry for you three." She tried her best to feel sympathetic, but there were more pressing matters on her mind. _Pinion…_

"Miss Rose?" Once again, she was thrown off concentration by the bat +Anima. Her eyes fluttered down to the girl. "We were wondering something. You come around here a lot, so we wondered if you knew where Captain Igneous is?"

The question nearly flew over Rose's head. She rapidly racked her brain, only to come up with the obvious answer. "He's…he's at the palace."

Nana shook her head. "No, he's not there. He's at his house, and we thought you might know where he lives."

Rose blinked. "Not…there…? Yes, that's good." Her mind worked faster than it ever had, and put two and two together in record speed. "If he's not there, then I can easily break in and-"

"What?" Nana gave the cat +Anima a puzzled look. It wasn't until then that Rose realized she'd been mumbling her thoughts aloud. She scrunched her eyes shut, shaking her head around and trying to refocus – ever since the incident on the balcony three days earlier, she'd been off her game drastically. Usually, it wasn't so hard being a thief.

Oh, yes, their question – Igneous. Captain Igneous…she knew where he lived, she'd been casing the joint there…Oh, where did he live…? Ah, of course…

She pointed up the side-street. "He has a little place five or six blocks that way," she told them. "Can't miss it, I hope….Well, I wish I could stay longer, but I have other things to attend to." Before any of the children could protest, Rose had lifted the hood of her poncho and was gone, in the direction of the castle.

Husky watched her leave, then turned back to Nana. "That was weird. She didn't look okay, and what was with that…" He motioned all about his chest. "…thing she was wearing?"

Nodding, Nana replied, "That was strange. But she did tell us where to find Igneous."

"Then what are we waiting for?" The three +Anima started off in nearly a run down the path Rose had pointed out. Five blocks seemed to take much longer, though, when they were trying to get somewhere as quickly as possible. Inch after inch was so much longer than the last, and it was so infuriating.

Eventually, they trekked the entire way to a small, dainty house that was alone in a small neighborhood of rundown buildings. There was barely any green in the area, the only signs of life coming from the miniscule front yard of Igneous' residence. Nana looked at the scene in total dread – she made a mental note to herself to never, under any circumstances, visit this place again. Not only did it give her the creeps, but it was just so messy and unfashionable.

Husky walked up to the front door of Igneous' house. He didn't want to do what he had to, but there was simply no avoiding it. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and knocked on the door.


	11. Igneous and Alice

After one knock, there was no answer. Two knocks yielded the same result. And when three knocks came around, there was still no answer. Under his breath, quiet enough so that neither Senri nor Nana could hear him, Husky proceeded to insult Igneous in the most colorful and profane ways he could imagine. In any other circumstance, he would've happily given up and left without so much as stopping; why, on the one occasion he actually _wanted_ the man he hated to be there, was he not?! Perhaps he'd finally gotten his wish and was out of Igneous' life altogether – what a twist of fate that would turn out to be.

"Come on, come on, just answer…." Husky muttered as he reached out to once again knock on the door.

When he was about to, however, the door stirred. It slid open as Husky fist made its way, in a rather blunt and hard manner, towards the wood. It took a great deal of power on the boy's part to stop himself as a woman appeared in the doorway.

She wasn't positively radiant, but Husky had to admit she was pretty. Long blond hair fell from her head to her shoulders; dark brown eyes fell upon the three children at her doorstep. One lithe arm fell across her stomach, which was bulging out a small bit, and her pianist's fingers stretched out across the bulge's surface. Her tired eyes blinked and a smile formed on her face; Husky's face went red from embarrassment. Rose had misled him! This _definitely _wasn't Igneous. Last the blue-haired boy checked, Igneous was not that pretty (_not that he had ever been pretty. Alright Husky, push that thought out of your head this instant!),_ nor was he that fat…nor was he a woman.

"May I help you?" she asked in a bit of a scratchy, motherly voice. Rubbing the arm of her light blue, sleeved dress, she continued to smile. And she was awaiting an answer, and Husky was positively melting in embarrassment.

"Uh…um…Well, you see," he managed to spit out, "I think we got the wrong address. We're looking for a man named Igneous, and…."

"Igneous?" the woman asked, her eyes lighting up. "You're looking for him?" Husky nodded in response. The woman turned into the house and called, "Iggy, it's for you!"

"How many times have I asked you to _not call me that_!" came from within the house in a frenzied shout. Husky could hear the shuffling of feet, and the grumbling of someone, though he couldn't make out what was being said. Not that he particularly wanted to know, but…. But that couldn't be Captain Igneous. He would never let himself be caught in the company of a –

However, it was indeed Captain Igneous who entered the fish +Anima's line of sight, bowl-cut dirty blond hair and all. He stared at the woman in annoyance before turning his attention to the door; when he did, the look on his face disappeared and he became absolutely flustered. Husky couldn't blame him – neither of them wanted this meeting to happen. Igneous' eyes darted around the vicinity, his mouth hanging open as if it were off its hinge. "Um…uh…I'm…I'm not here right now!" he said quickly, moving to slam the door shut.

As he did, the woman sighed and placed her foot between the door and its jamb. The wood collided with her heel, causing her to cringe and for Igneous to nearly yelp. Once the few moments of pain had passed, though, the woman resumed smiling. Turning to the Captain, she sweetly asked him, "Iggy, dear, aren't you going to ask them why they're here?"

Husky didn't need to be able to lip-read to figure out the word that Igneous muttered inaudibly. Those four letters were definitely not pleasant, even when he just imagined them. But Igneous stepped forward, complete with a rueful grimace on his face, and forced himself to say something. "What do you want?" he choked out, his mouth slowly rippling into a fake, toothy smile that forced stretch lines to pop up all over his face and neck.

Through clenched teeth, Husky replied, "Nothing at all if you don't want to hear it." Just as much animosity came through him as it did Igneous.

The Captain answered the boy with a strained, "All the better," all while retaining his horror movie smile.

As lightning sizzled between their eyes, Nana slapped a hand over her face and shook her head. "Men…." She groaned. Stepping up, she stamped her foot down. "Ahem." Nothing between Husky and Igneous changed. So, going to Plan B, she walked up to the front door and pushed Husky out of the way, which (while sending an icy chill up Nana's spine) did nothing to remedy the situation – Igneous seemed to dislike the girl even more than the blue-haired boy. Unlike the fish +Anima, though, she could make her demands known.

"We need to talk," she said quite bluntly, staring Igneous in the face.

"If you don't already know, I'd rather not listen."

Nana did already know; she was also, incidentally, offended by this rudeness on the Captain's part. So, pulling up a sleeve of her blouse she did what she was amazed the older woman hadn't done long ago.

There was a resounding echo and a shockwave sent flying as the bat +Anima slapped Igneous on the cheek. He fell against the door and tumbled to the floor, his arms shooting to the five-fingered red spot on his sore face. Puffing her chest out confidently, Nana continued. "This is about our friend Cooro."

Still rubbing his wound profusely, Igneous asked her, "And why should I care about your little friend?"

"Because," Husky said, reappearing on the steps, "it doesn't just concern Cooro. Our little problem also happens to involve a couple of no good +Anima and some shady business. Things I'm sure you're against." He crossed his arms and stared at the Captain.

The Captain grumbled, then looked to the older woman, and finally gave in. Sighing, but still making sure he reeked of annoyance, he told the three +Anima, "Fine. Come in. I'll listen to what you have to say." Struggling to his feet, and wiping himself clean of dust, he moved over to allow the older woman to withdraw into the house and the three children to enter.

As they did so, Husky put his hand in front of his mouth and whispered to Nana, "That blond woman's kinda fat, isn't she?" For the second time in five minutes, a large shockwave was sent blasting through the capital city. Husky held his cheek, which was throbbing; Nana wiped her hands and grinned smugly.

Senri bent down and put a hand on Husky's shoulder – the fish +Anima turned around to see the Kim-Un-Kur's other hand pointing to the woman. "Baby," he whispered.

"What?"

Huffing indignantly, Nana nearly exploded. Instead, she answered the ignorant boy in a heated whisper. "Husky, are you really that dense. She's pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Husky asked, blinking. "But if she's pregnant, then…" At last, all the pieces clicked together. "Oh…" And he couldn't stop a childish smile from spreading across his face – it was all he could do to stop himself from breaking down into a fit of laughter. He'd just never expected Igneous to be that sort of person.

The three +Anima were led into a living room of sorts, though it contained only a couch, a chair, and a small oak table. A small pitcher of water sat on the table. The woman and Igneous sat down on the small couch, the woman placing her hands in her lap and Igneous crossing his arms and slouching back. Husky, Nana, and Senri found their places as spots on a threadbare carpet that barely covered a wood floor; Husky immediately decided that he'd been in much better places than this.

The five stayed there, in an awkward silence, for a few minutes before Igneous grunted. "So…?" he inquired. "Why did you come here in the first place?"

"There's no need to be rude, Iggy," the woman told him.

Brow twitching, Igneous turned to her and replied, "No I'm not, Al! And stop calling me Iggy!"

"Al?" Nana asked.

The woman seemed to stop mid-motion when Nana spoke. Eyes widening, she whipped around in the couch so that she faced the three +Anima – her smile had retuned, though, as they all noticed. "How impolite of me," she laughed, setting her fingers on her chin. "I didn't even introduce myself! My name's Alice – I'm Iggy's fian-"

"She's just a friend!" Igneous protested, holding up his hands, the color of embarrassment all over his face.

Alice huffed, but couldn't help smirking. "Yes. A friend that you dated and then proposed to. Not to mention…" She rubbed her stomach. "…giving me the best thing a woman could ask for."

Nana's interest was, for the moment, piqued. "How long have you been carrying the baby?" she asked, her eyes alight with wonder. At this fascination, Alice couldn't help but smile and giggle.

"Not too long," she answered. "Only about three months is all…." Her sentence trailed off as the sound of feet tapping entered her ears. Turning to Igneous, she saw the baleful frown on his face and that his crossed arms were squeezing against one another. His foot was quickly tapping on the floor, gaining speed every other second it seemed.

"I assume you didn't come here to have idle conversation with my fiancée," he said, barely keeping his composure. "What 'problems' were you going on about?"

Husky sighed; talking to Igneous was never fun. Where else could he begin but the beginning? So, starting with their travels to Fly's memorial, he relayed the situation as up to that point as quickly as he could (which encompassed 'accidentally' leaving out the part that every other night he was having strange, slightly erotic dreams about his best friend), up to the point where they knocked upon the Captain's door.

Igneous digested the information slowly, taking into account everything he'd just been told. "Well…" he mused after processing the tale he'd just been told, "I'd say that your little friend has found a new crowd to travel with." With a harsh laugh, he continued by saying, "I can't say I'm surprised, though. I know _I'd _be itching to get away from you guys." And he took pleasure in the hurt expressions of the three +Anima – if he had to endure this, he might as well have some fun with it, right?

Alice begged to differ. She shot him a reproachful look, which caused the Captain to abruptly clear his throat. "Anyway, it's nothing to worry about. This is your friend Curry's-"

"Cooro."

"Whatever. It's his issue, let him deal with it. As for this Zeke person, I can't tell you he isn't a suspicious character. But he hasn't done anything directly related to any goings-on, so I think it would best to ignore it for now." And, feeling successful, he reclined once again.

Husky, on the other hand, wasn't quite as happy with that explanation. "You can't be serious!" he said loudly, getting to his feet. His eyes tried to bore into Igneous'. "Zeke is a huge threat! I don't what he can do, but we have to stop him!"

"I don't care," Igneous replied calmly. "He's not my problem, so why should I deal with it?"

But before anyone could argue any further, furious rapping sounded at the door. "Captain! Captain Igneous! It's an emergency!" And this was all the prompting the Captain needed to spring from his seat and push past the +Anima in a rush to open the front door. In a few long strides, he was in the entryway, throwing the door open to reveal a soldier who was huffing and visibly out of breath.

"What is it?!" Igneous demanded. "What's going on?!"

Breathing heavily, the soldier replied, "S-someone's infiltrated the castle, sir."

"_What_?!"

"T-they broke into the treasure vault, and…."

"And what?! What did they steal?!"

"N-no money. Just a map…"

Igneous was at his breaking point. He wanted answers. "What map?! Tell me what they stole!"

"T-the map of the entire castle, sir. W-we tried to stop the thief, but couldn't stop them. F-forgive me, sir…."

Igneous muttered profanities under his breath as he ran into another room. He reappeared a minute later with a sword and shield tightly in his grasp.

"Iggy, what's going on?!" Alice called out to him, worry heavy in her voice.

"Nothing! You stay here, I need to go to the castle!"

"I'm going with you, then."

"No! You stay here, and don't, under any circumstances, leave!" With that, he raced out the front and began in the direction of the castle. He couldn't help feeling that things were about to get a lot more complicated and dangerous – it started with the +Anima he despised asking him for help, to someone breaking into the castle that was _supposed_ to be the most well-protected place in Astaria. Nothing added up, which scared him. What was going on?


	12. Rose's Flight

God. Dammit. Everything had been going so perfectly for Rose…that is, until she accidentally activated a trip alarm in the treasure vault. Within minutes, soldiers were swarming into the room and she'd had to escape through the vents. She only barely fit into the small crawl space, and had to push forward with all her strength just to move – it might've been the most uncomfortable thing in the world. Grunting, she pushed closer and closer to a light source.

Things weren't all bad, though. Before making a hasty escape, she _had_ nabbed the map of the castle that Zeke wanted. And that, of course, brought her to the next issue: Zeke. The conniving +Anima was the sole reason any of this was happening. She was still hitting herself for being led on by him. Ha! As if he could ever feel anything like love – he was too shallow to have a heart, let alone the ability to use it. But that didn't change the fact that she'd let her guard down, and as a result, Pinion had been kidnapped.

"Hang on, Pinion," Rose muttered softly. "I'll set you free in no time."

When she reached the source of light, she found it was another ventilation trapdoor. Provided no one was down there waiting for her to drop, she could escape the tiny prison she wormed her way through. Upon careful inspection, she decided that the coast was clear. Using her mouth, she unscrewed the screws holding the trapdoor in place far enough so as to force the thing open.

The one thing she hadn't considered, though, was that said trapdoor would have no hinges. So when she headbutted it, it went crashing to the floor, colliding with a loud bang. "Damn!" she hissed almost silently as she (quickly as she could while remaining silent) lowered herself out of the vents and dropped about twenty feet to the floor.

A sharp pain shot up Rose's legs as she landed. But this was no time to be slowed down by a small pest like hurting; there were infinitely more important things at stake than how she felt. And at the present moment, she knew that if those matters were going to be resolved, she had to start running away; no matter how hotly her legs burned as she raced away from the spot where she'd landed.

Not but a few hallways away, the sounds of frenzied shouts entered Rose's ears.

"She has to be here somewhere! There's no way she could've escaped the castle!"

"Men, split up and search every nook and cranny of the castle until you've found that rat! You two, go guard the drawbridge and make sure _no one gets by you_!"

"Yes, sir, Captain Igneous, sir!"

Rose swore she could her heart pounding against her chest. Captain Igneous was in the castle?! Hadn't the children said that he wasn't, and that they were going to visit him? Why was luck never on her side? The cat +Anima laid her free hand over her breast, attempting to slow her quick, sharp breathing – the circumstances, at this point, were moot. The only thing of importance was that she was inside the castle, and she needed a way out pronto. And those armored footsteps getting gradually closer and closer weren't helping things.

As long as she was unsteady, she would be unable to employ her skills of a thief. Putting a hand to her forehead, she pushed the hair out of her eyes and slumped back against the wall. No problem, all that was required was a minute or two to think things through… It proved to be easier said than done. At every clank of metal upon the floor, her heart dangerously skipped a beat; at every shouted order, a million sirens went off in her head. It was as if all the nerves in her brain had decided to get shot at one time – unbearable.

She couldn't do it. Rose's grip on the map was tightening and tightening, to the point that large wrinkles were being formed in the parchment. Sweat was cascading down her brow. Her entire body rattled violently. There was absolutely no way she was escaping; to use the old saying, she had a snowball's chance in hell. Sighing through hurried breaths, Rose made up her mind.

But just as she was beginning to lean out from her hiding place, the vision of her younger brother entered her view. _'Pinion…' _Immediately, Rose ducked back into her save crevice; if she let herself be caught by Igneous and the guards, any chance of ever seeing her little brother again went out the window. Even if just for the sake of being his big sister, she couldn't let him down. How would she be able to live with herself, provided she was granted life after being apprehended trying to steal from the royal treasury? No, there had to be a way around Igneous, and she had to find out – failure wasn't an option.

Where to start? Rose sighed and resigned herself to the truth: she had no clue where she was. Being lost in a castle was one thing; being lost in a castle you're stealing a map from was a completely different situation altogether. In the first scenario, getting caught meant a pat on the shoulder and a friendly smile; the second scenario heralded a set of irons and, if luck remained her opposition, a nice trip to the gallows. Cringing at the thought, Rose told herself not to psyche herself out, and that she wasn't going to stare down the gallows pole; not then, not ever. But the question still loomed over her head like a dark cloud: where exactly was she, and how was she going to get out? The guards still hadn't found her, but she was aware that they weren't dumb – in no time, she'd be discovered.

Only one thing could be done.

Listening intently, making sure that there were no clanking steps around her, Rose got up and bolted from her shadowy hiding spot. She wasn't even registering her loud, clumsy leaps and her breath, noisy and heavy as she gulped in all the air she could. If she had, she might've taken the time to fix all these things.

But she didn't. Intently, almost stubbornly, she continued on at full throttle, wishing that the exit could come. The twisting halls of the castle produced almost a tunnel effect, where she knew the exit was there but she didn't seem to get any closer. _'Please…' _she thought, closing her eyes and praying. _'Please…All I want is to see Pinion again…'_

Her eyes were closed, as were her ears, so she didn't register something right in front of her – something she collided with quite forcefully, sending both sprawling to the floor.

A searing pain spread throughout all of Rose's body. She gasped out, her eyes shooting open and taking in the scene before her. It was not one she wanted to see – in fact, it was most likely the very last thing she wanted at the moment. Lying on the floor, mere feet from the thief, was Igneous, a look of annoyance on his face. His eyes were closed, and Rose could've easily used that chance to escape. Unfortunately, she didn't. All she did was sit there in disbelief, as though suspended in a stupor.

Moments later, Igneous opened his own eyes, and his met those of the thief. Both stared at the other for a few seconds, blinking rapidly and trying to digest what was happening. When a scowl began to wash over Igneous' features, Rose scrambled to her feet, finally desperate to continue her escape.

Igneous was faster. By the time Rose was just getting her balance, he was already up and one of his hands was wrapping around her wrist. With a furious grunt, he shoved her up against the nearest wall, grasping her other wrist with his free hand. He put both arms, one still clutching the map with the grip of a condor's talon, above her head as he leaned in close to his captive. Rose wished nothing more than to get away from him, but had nowhere to go and the captain's face was getting extremely close to hers…

Actually, that was giving her an idea…

"I'm going to lock you away for a long time," Igneous whispered to her while making sure she noticed the malice in his voice. "You and every other disgusting +Anima like you…"

Rose blinked once, telling herself that she absolutely had to do _that_ in order to get free. Breathing deeply, she put on her most innocent face and asked quietly, "Igneous…? Why do you have to be so mean…?"

It caught the captain offguard. He stared at the girl, who started stretching her head out, so close to his that he could feel her breath. "Wh-wha…?"

"I'm already yours. I won't fight…" she told him with a promising tone. Her eyes stared into his, willing them to close and asking his mouth to lean into her own. Igneous was confused in all senses of the word – wasn't this +Anima supposed to be an arrogant thief? But she was getting closer, ever closer…

What about Alice…? What would she think, but the +Anima's lips were coming so close, he could almost feel it, and secretly…maybe…perhaps…he _wanted _it…Her lips were parting ,and he could see her tongue, swishing around from cheek to cheek and-

Rose internally smirked; he'd fallen for it. Closing the distance between their lips, she bared her teeth and bit down on the captain's lower lip. Wasting no time, she jerked her head back, effectively ripping Igneous' lip from his face.

Screaming in pain, the captain released her. Rose took the opportunity and ran away as fast as she could. Seconds later, the shocked cries of displeasure arose from where she'd made her escape; only a minute later, she heard Igneous' voice yelping and screeching, "Stop her, STOP THAT ANIMAL!"

There was almost a thunderclap as, simultaneously, a dozen armored soldiers began to sprint after the fleeing thief. Unfortunately for them, however, Rose had reached the drawbridge and taken the two lounging, nonchalant guards by total surprise. Smiling confidently, triumphantly, she leapt across the moat and continued running into the confines of the capital city and the sheltering shadows of its colossuses.

Not until she was leaning against the brick wall of some building did she truly let it sink in: she'd won. She had outwitted the guard of the royal castle, and escaped with the map. In only a day or two, she was going to be reunited with her little brother, and life would be back to normal; with the exception of visits to the royal castle. She had a feeling she wasn't exactly welcome there anymore. Once again, she brought the map to her face; it was going to be well worth it.

That was when something struck her in the middle of her back. With a short gasp of pain, Rose crumbled to the ground, pain propelling up her spine for the third time that day. The map fell from her grip, and a moment later, a sleek hand picked it up gingerly. Grunting and exerting a large amount of effort, she rolled herself over and stared up. There was Zeke, smiling like a maniac and holding his prize with the protectiveness of a mother holding her newborn child. His eyes scanned over the fallen +Anima with a mix of great joy and sarcastic pity. "Thank you for retrieving this for me," he told her with a wink. "Couldn't have done it without ya, Rose."

"Zeke!" Rose breathed out in surprise and agony. "What are you doing here?!"

"Why, getting this map, of course," he said. "My plans can't very well be put into practice without this."

"Where's Pinion?!"

A sly grin overtook the smile that was on Zeke's face. "Oh, dear me, what am I to say? You see, he's locked up right now."

"Zeke!" Rose shrieked, trying to get to her feet but finding herself unable to. "Zeke, what do you mean?! Give him back to me! I got you your map, now give him back!"

But the gray-haired boy shook his head, having to use much effort to not break down laughing. "Rose, are you really that dense? I never planned to give him back in the first place. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor, poor Rose…You got duped again."

"What do you want with my little brother?!"

"Ha! This proves that he holds great leverage over you – I think I might have to employ him as blackmail again. That, and he really is a cutie; hell, if I play my cards right, he would make a beautiful and loyal underling."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing – she had gone through everything to get the map for Zeke, and she'd done nothing but play into his hand .And worse yet, he was insinuating that she would never see Pinion again. "So that's it, then?!" she asked him, voice rising in pitch. "You're just going to play him, use him, like you do everyone else?! And then throw away friendship and love when they're not useful to you anymore?!"

Zeke finally cackled. "Glad you're finally getting the picture!" he laughed. Somewhere in the distance, there was a clap of thunder and a jagged bolt of lightning lit up the sky. "It's called pansexuality, love." He daintily put a few free fingers against his chest. "Although I must tell you, I think I've met the girl of my dreams. She's smart, she's cunning, she's quick, and she's everything, she's my dreams come true…" He stared into Rose's eyes, and she felt that glimmer of hope resurfacing.

"…And she's not you." Laughing crazily, Zeke waved a final goodbye to Rose and hopped into the shadows. He was gone, and Rose was left by herself, lying in an alley, unable to move.

Another flash of lightning came, and rain started to fall to the ground. In a matter of a few minutes, Rose was soaked and chilled to the bone. And she was absolutely miserable. She needed help, she needed help…"Please!" she exclaimed. "Please, someone help me!"

But what were the chances anyone was going to hear?


	13. A Thief in the Alley

"But Igneous told you to stay here!" Nana objected as she watched Alice turning the knob of the front door.

Careful of the baby she held in her womb, Alice threw the door open and hurriedly rushed down the front steps. "I don't care," she said bluntly as she started down the street towards the castle. "I'm not going to let him get hurt." It was clear that she wasn't going to be swayed.

Still, though, Nana felt like she had to try. The sensation of trying to follow Igneous' orders was odd, even alien, but the woman rushing to the man's aid was carrying the miracle of life within her. Such a thing could not, under any circumstances, be lost. So, cupping her hands around her mouth in the shape of an O, she gave it one last attempt. "What about your baby?" she called out, in a panicked voice, to Alice, who was already halfway down the block.

Without turning around, Alice replied, "Nothing is going to happen to my baby _or _my fiancé!" She continued on adamantly.

Nana raised a hand in protest, but said nothing as she watched Alice speedily slow-walk down the lane. In that one moment, the bat +Anima felt completely, absolutely helpless. Lip quivering, her arm slowly fell down to her side as she stood on the porch and didn't make any attempt to go forward. "B-but…" Nothing else would come out, try as she might.

Husky hadn't even lifted a finger to stop Alice. He'd merely sat on the small couch, arms folded in his lap, staring at the floor and paying no attention to Alice's worries. When she'd abruptly gotten up, the boy's expression hadn't wavered. Now, however, he slowly got to his feet and turned his head upwards to look around the empty room. Out of the corner of his eye, Husky noticed Senri leaning up against the wall in the entry hall. Moving away from the couch, the fish +Anima found himself putting a hand gently against the wood paneling of the corner. Slowly moving out into the entry hall, he saw Nana's body, standing straight up and shivering. Eyes softening, he asked her in a gentle voice, "Nana, are you alright…?"

Her head whipped around to face his. Husky could see in her eyes concern, indecision, and an overriding confusion. The girl looked close to tears, but she was holding her composure together, even if just barely. "Of course I'm not." Nana sniffled in. "She's just…running out there and she won't stop." For the first time that she could recall, she wanted nothing more than to reach out to him and let herself be wrapped in his arms – however, she had to resist that urge. Instead, she asked worriedly, "What am I supposed to do…?"

What sort of answer could there possibly be? Husky had no way of replying to Nana's question – Alice was being irrational, Igneous was being stubborn (as usual), and everything was going all wrong. It seemed like there was only one thing that the boy could do to calm his friend's frayed nerves. Moving towards her, he put his best smile upon his face, one that made Nana even more nervous. She tried to move away, to be free of Husky's smile, but couldn't.

Once he got to the bat +Anima, Husky put his arms around her and brought her close to him. Nana's cheeks flared with red coloring, almost as though they'd been colored that way by a crayon. Her eyes took no notice of the boy holding her – they stared, like they were hanging agape, at the ceiling. Nonetheless, a wave of comfort flowed through her body.

Eyes closed, Husky told her, "Then there's only one thing we can do. We have to follow Alice and make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

And after that, Nana, for reasons she couldn't quite understand, she felt better; perhaps because she was about to go help someone. But at the same time, she felt scared; perhaps because the words had meant something personal to her, and she didn't have the courage to utter those three words she desperately wanted to tell Husky.

Three words she would probably never be able to tell him.

Before she could even contemplate them, Husky had let go of her and was out the door, as was Senri. Nana was left standing on the front porch while her two friends were already out on the street, trying to follow Alice's trail. And, for some reason, the bat +Anima couldn't help but see herself being left behind by everyone who had cared for her. To be left living in the past while everyone else flew by… Nana sighed – perhaps it was impossible to love Husky…

"Nana, you coming?"

Blinking, Nana peered out into the road to see Husky waving at her. He didn't have a cute smile on, nor was he very enthusiastic about having to remind her to hurry up, but… A happy grin inched its way onto the girl's face. Maybe not impossible…

When the three +Anima finally caught up with Alice, she was breathing heavily and resting her head against a dirty brick wall. The alleys had swallowed her up and painted her face crimson. As footsteps came nearer to her, her eyes flashed over to the three children; a soft smile adorned her lips when she did. "I was wondering…how long…it would take…" she said slowly, taking large gulps of air into her lungs between every few words. She gently patted the ground beside her, motioning for them to sit down.

None of them did, though. With stormclouds brewing overhead, they wanted to be ready to run to shelter.

"It's a bit hard…to run with…a baby…" Alice explained, and weakly laughed. "I was…out of breath…pretty quick…" After that, a wave of silence swept over the four. Not a word was spoken, not a grunt uttered, not a single sigh was sighed.

That was why it came as such a surprise when the piercing scream of a woman filled the night air. "Help! Please! HELP!" it screeched, the tone shaking and tears almost visible through the sheer volume and fluctuation. All four of them in the alley turned their heads quickly; where was that voice coming from?

"HeLP!" The unknown woman's voice cracked in the night air. It was frenzied, and there could be no doubt that whoever called was in serious trouble, and truly needed what she was screaming for.

Nana turned to Alice, who was still very red in the face. "Wh…what do we do…?" the little girl asked. What _could _she do?

Alice grunted a little as she tried to lift herself up with help from the wall. "We…we go and…help... whoever…" She sighed and collapsed back to the ground, catching her breath and not wanting to move at all. But she lifted a hand and pointed in the direction of the screaming. "Wel…well…go…!"

Nana glanced to where the screaming was. "But I can't just leave you here…"

Husky sighed. _'Girls can never get anything done,'_ he thought to himself, irritated. Stepping forward, he nodded to Senri. "Pick 'er up and take 'er with us." He glanced over at Nana. "C'mon, we're gonna go see what this is all about." However, as Senri helped Alice to her feet, helping her along with his shoulder, Husky thought to himself, _'How do I get myself into these situations…?'_

* * *

It was perhaps three or four blocks away that the four found who was yelling for help. Senri, Husky, and Nana immediately recognized her. "Rose!" Nana called out, rushing over to the fox +Anima.

Rose had slid herself under the cover of some lopsided cardboard boxes to shelter herself from the cold. It was still difficult for her to move after having been hit so hard by Zeke. Using her elbows, she'd slid herself over, and had begun calling for help. "Ahh…! You three…!" Her voice, even when it was low like it was at the present moment, was raspy and clearly tired.

All three +Anima, and Alice, sat down by her. "What happened to you?" Husky asked, small traces of concern in his voice. "You were fine last we saw you."

Rose nodded a bit weakly. "Yes, but that was before…" She looked up at Alice. "…Who are you?"

Alice put a hand in front of her mouth momentarily. "Oh my…I forgot t'…to introduce myself…" She extended the hand forward. "I'm Alice, fiancé of Captain Igneous." There was a small bit of pride in the way she said this.

Rose stared off into space for a moment. "C-Captain Igneous…" Suddenly, she burst into life, clutching at Alice's outstretched hand with both of her own. "Please…! You _must_ take me to the Captain, he has to know!"

"Slow down…!" Husky told her. Rose continued to quiver for a moment before calming down to where she could listen. "Now tell us what the Captain-" He absolutely despised using Igneous' actual name. "…needs to know."

Rose took a few deep breaths. "Well, I sort of…broke into the castle and set off the alarm…"

Nana gasped. "Rose, what were you thinking…? …So that's what triggered the alarm…"

Rose waved a hand in front of Nana's general vicinity so that she could continue. "Yes, yes, but that's not it. I escaped the castle with something I'd stolen – the blueprints of the castle itself." She didn't even bat an eyelash at the other four, whose jaws had all dropped in disbelief that she would do such a thing. Rose continued her story, saying how she'd meant to give it to Zeke a few days later, but he'd surprised her. She told them that Zeke had made it clear he was planning to attack the castle, and take the capital of Astaria.

All while he was listening to this, Husky's head was boiling. His hands were curling into fists; his knuckles were turning white. Right from the start… From the beginning, he'd known Zeke was no good. And Cooro had trusted him, and now Cooro was gone, and…

And why were tears forming in his eyes? Why was he getting so emotional whenever he thought of Cooro? Covertly, as not to be seen by the likes of anyone, he wiped the tears away before they could fall.

"Zeke…? The nice one we met that was Cooro's friend…? He's really a bad guy…?" Nana was ovicing what Husky was pretty much thinking, though he considered it a bit slow. She had only _just _figured that one out…?

Rose nodded. "Yes, and I have to get to the Captain and warn him so that they can prepare defenses! Zeke and his company are ruthless – if they launch a surprise attack, the castle will most definitely fall!" She tried to get up, and made it a good distance before she hissed in pain and lowered herself back down to the ground. She rubbed her ribs before trying again. This time, she managed to push herself upright, and her body fell back against the wall, leaning. "C…Come on…" she muttered to herself. "Be strong, you hafta make it back there…"

Husky and Nana looked at each other, then at Senri. Soon, the bear +Anima found himself helping two people along on their way to the castle.

* * *

"Hurry it up! I want people tracing her footsteps! I want her caught within the hour! I want what she took back _now_!" Igneous was making his soldiers run around endlessly, securing the castle and doing a check of every single storage area to find out what Rose had stolen.

The captain touched a finger to his bottom lip, which was still bleeding – a small bit, but he was bleeding all the same. His other hand curled into a fist. _'I swear, the moment I find her I'm going to make her regret ever stealing from this castle AND attacking me.' _For now, he stared at the floor and leaned a foot against the marble walls, every so often barking out an order to no one in particular.

His mind was racing so much that he didn't even notice a guard coming up to him, with a group of five lagging not too far behind him.

"Captain?"

Catapulted out of his thoughts, Igneous turned to him, his eyes flashing indignantly. "Yes?" The word was almost forced out of his mouth.

"You have visitors, captain. They say they have something to say about the theft." And before his captain had the chance to say anything at all, the guard scurried away. So Igneous was left standing in the middle of the hall, quite dumbfounded, with five people in his midst, all of whom he hadn't yet noticed.

It wasn't until he turned that he saw the group there. Igneous began to look away, then did a double-take and threw his head back over to face them directly. The first person he saw was, of course, his fiancé. "Alice…!" he exclaimed in something between a hiss and a yelp of surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay home and look after the baby!"

Alice shook her head, though she was still being supported by Senri. "I'm not going to just…let you run into things by yourself." She held up her engagement ring. "This is a promise I made to you, that I would be there to help. And I intend to keep that promise."

Igneous' entire face went the color of a ripe tomato. He shook his head, trying to get his normal color back, and noticed Husky and Nana. He grimaced. "What are you two doing here, with your Kim-Un-Kur friend, too?" That's when he looked to where Senri's left arm was, and who else he was supporting.

It was an intense momentary staredown between the captain and Rose. As soon as he regained his senses, Igneous pointed out and yelled, "You!" He wasted no time pulling out his sword and pointing it at her.

Husky had seen this happen before – Igneous was always quick to pull out his sword and use it. He'd done it when Nana had tried to talk to the captain through a tent. So the fish +Anima threw himself in front of Rose, his arms spread wide to his sides. Husky didn't say a word, but merely stared at the captain with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Get outta my way, kid!" Igneous used his superior adult strength to forcefully throw Husky away from Rose. The boy hit the ground with a thump, but recovered quickly. His eyes immediately darted up to the captain, who was bringing his sword back, ready to thrust.

"Igneous, stop!"

Igneous put a small burst of energy into his arm to thrust the sword forward, but stopped himself. The sword trembled for a moment, and then dropped to the floor. It wasn't Husky who had shouted, but Alice. She'd shrugged Senri's hand from her shoulder, and put herself in front of Rose. And it had been more than enough to cause Igneous to stop his attack. However, he was still mad as hell.

"What are you doing, Alice?" he asked, irritated. "Are you aware that you're protecting a woman who stole from this very castle?"

Alice nodded, not moving an inch.

"Then why the hell aren't you getting out of the way so I can punish her?"

"Because she wants to help!" Alice answered back, her own voice rising. "She knows what she did was wrong, but she can explain, and besides that, she has a warning for you!"

There was clearly rage in Igneous' eyes, and it was clear that he wasn't liking his fiancé's stance on things. But he stood down and, after muttering a few choice words to himself, said in a clearer voice, "Fine. Let her talk."

But Alice remained in front of Rose while the +Anima spoke, lest what she said send Igneous into another fit of anger. Rose cleared her throat. "I-Igneous-"

"That's _Captain_ to you."

"Yes. Captain. I stole a very detailed map of the castle – a blueprint, I guess. And I was on my way to deliver it to someone when he attacked me and stole it from me. And now he's planning a siege of this castle, to try and take over the country's capital!" She pushed her head over Alice's body, putting all the honesty that she had left into her eyes.

But Igneous scoffed at them. "And you expect me to believe you? Sorry, but I make it a point not to trust thieves."

Nana extended her bat wings and flew up into the captain's face. "But she's telling the truth! Zeke took Cooro away from us!"

Chuckling, Igneous brushed past the bat +Anima. "Or vagabonds." However, he stopped as he saw that Alice hadn't moved a muscle. She was still staring at him with those defiant eyes. "..Oh, come on, Alice. Not you too. Don't tell me you've been tricked by this thief."

Alice shook her head. "I haven't been tricked at all. I believe this young woman – we found her screaming for help in an alley. Maybe you've forgotten how to look at someone and know they're telling the truth, but I haven't…. Take one look at her, then look me in the eyes and tell me she's lying."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Igneous looked at Rose's eyes. They were so large, so vulnerable, so full of truth…. They weren't at all like the eyes of the cunning thief who had stolen the castle's blueprints. It was as if he was staring at a completely different person. For all the time he spent examining Rose's eyes, not a thing in their light betrayed them.

Grumbling to himself, he closed his eyes and turned around. "Fine. I'll go get the other soldiers and tell them to stop searching. Instead, I'll get them and some reinforcements and start fortifying the castle for this Zeke you keep talking about. If he's going to come at us, we might as well meet him head on."


	14. The Night Before Revolution

Flames reared up from the pedestal in the presumed center of the room. They threw light as well as shadows all over the area; darkness danced along the walls as fire licked at the air, all in a complex and almost manic rhythm.

However, even the fire slowed its pace as one person in particular stepped into its light. As Zeke entered visibility, his sickly green eyes alight, the air seemed to slow. It was almost like everything in the room had taken on a sense of calm anticipation and cold sweat. All eyes were on Zeke as his face stopped over the flames, a smile on his face.

He held up a piece of paper that glowed with a blue brilliance. "This, my friends," he announced, "is the final piece of our plan. With these, the blueprints to the castle in Astaria's capital, we can finally rise up and have our day!" When he shouted his last line with the vigor of a general, roaring applause cascaded over the room, blowing the fire every which way.

Cooro was as in on the applause as he ever was. To him, all the hard work was finally going to pay off - +Anima were no longer going to have to endure ridicule and persecution from jealous and scared humans. +Anima were going to be able to live life without fear of discrimination. +Anima were finally going to be _free_.

As the noise subsided, Zeke raised a hand. "My allies, my friends." He looked around, even though he couldn't really see anyone else very clearly. "This is not a guarantee of our success. I hope you all realize this." Murmurs from all the +Anima in the room began to grow; did Zeke not just say they would have their day because of the blueprints?

"We must march to the castle and take it, and this page is the key!" Screams of appreciation and a large tumult of applause arose; of course this is what Zeke had meant; everyone else had just misunderstood him. Cooro, of course, knew this same truth, just like everyone else.

Noïr sauntered up next to Zeke, much to his delight. Grinning above the flames, which cast eerie shadows on his face, he put an arm around the mouse +Anima's neck and pulled her in close. "Tonight will be the night that you all get your assignments." Tingles went up the spines of not only Cooro, but every other +Anima there. Tommy's tail swished; hairs on Greta's arms stood on end. "And tonight, we will march to the castle, and tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, we will take the capital."

His hands curled into fists and his eyes flashed in the light of the inferno. It was as if flames burned in his pupils. "We will take their capital, and we will take their symbols, and we will have our day!" There were massive cheers. "Our day is upon us!" More cheers exploded, beginning to rock the chamber where they were. "It is our destiny to rise above! And we will be free!" His last words were almost drowned out by the volume of whooping from his +Anima followers.

Zeke sneered in absolute triumph. His plan was coming to fruition. Soon, he would be looking upon the castle at Astaria, and in no more than 24 short hours, it would be all his. It was almost too much to bear – everything he'd worked for was so close to being a success. His eyes swam over to Noïr's, and both shared a short laugh.

So soon…so soon…

Zeke leaned over and the fire took on a new life in his eyes as he let his lips touch hers. Noïr practically melted into his kiss, her eyes closing and her arms wrapping around his chest. Her body temperature was rising until it broke the thermometer. She didn't notice Zeke's eyes open, and she didn't notice the loving look he gave her. She didn't notice anything until he wove his hand, and the fires dissipated.

* * *

Husky was alone in the small chamber he'd been given. Alice had led him, along with Nana and Senri, to the small cluster of personal chambers after Igneous went off to gather up his troops. Rose had gone off by herself, not looking very well; from the looks of things, she was extremely guilty and had maybe even resigned herself to something. But what that something was was beyond Husky's thoughts.

Instead, the fish +Anima paced from corner to corner, his mind on different things. But for all his concentration, his brain was unable to stay on one subject. At first he'd be thinking of how to fight, and then his attention would switch to Cooro; he'd be mad at Zeke, and then his attention would switch to Cooro; he'd tell himself he needed to stop thinking about Cooro, and then his attention would switch to Cooro. It was a bit of a vicious cycle. Slowly but surely, the thought of his friend was eating away at Husky.

In order to combat it, he went to the window, the glass starting to stain from the drizzle outside, and looked down to the grounds. Troops, draped in their military garb, were marching in formation, hands gripped tightly on the hilts of their swords. Igneous was in front of them, leading them in preparation for what was to come: Zeke.

Sighing, Husky turned from the window. He still wasn't convinced Igneous was taking the radical +Anima seriously enough, but he should consider it a victory in itself that Igneous had even considered defense. In the end, it was all thanks to Alice anything was being done at all – she had more sway over the captain than he ever would. Crossing over to the bed, Husky relaxed all his muscles and let himself fall. He hit the sheets with a groan and lay there, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. The night was just beginning to fall, and it would be a long one. Husky heavily weighed the option that he might not get any sleep, and would be up defending against +Anima like himself well before dawn.

It was not only a daunting thought, but a poisonous one. Though it hadn't been alive too long, it was already tugging on Husky's conscience – he didn't want to fight others like him, let alone Cooro.

That was how his mind wandered, once again, to the crow +Anima. Husky brought a hand out from under his head and put it up above his face. For a long time, he studied his hand, curling it into a fist and uncurling it, twisting it and turning it over. While he said nothing out loud, his thoughts were screaming. And every single one was centered on Cooro.

What did he mean to Husky…? Nana had suggested the possibility of… The fish +Anima gulped. It was an odd prospect, almost a bit terrifying. What if he did? What if Nana was right?

At the same time, Husky had to consider what he already knew. He was positive he didn't have feelings for Cooro. Whenever an image of the two kissing crossed his mind, he retched. But also, the crow +Anima's touch was like electricity. A shiver ran through Husky whenever any parts of the two made contact, even if for only an instant.

He was confused. What was he supposed to believe? Everything was wacky, turned upside-down and sideways. Nothing made even remote sense anymore.

So he sat, staring at his hand as he twirled it this way and that, not really trying to take his mind off his dilemma but wishing against all odds that it would just go away. Nothing succeeded. Like always, the image of Cooro persisted and endured, and it was enough to drive Husky mad. He finally broke and flailed his arms around, kicking at air and rolling on the bed, ruffling the sheets.

The rain was picking up outside and smashing against the window – that was all the noise Husky needed. No screaming necessary; he wouldn't, he couldn't. He couldn't let anyone hear his distress, lest he add more to their already overfull plates. And he knew that people like Alice were most likely having the hardest time. Husky couldn't bear to cause more problems.

Flipping over, he let his head hit the pillow. Things were making his head burn. He just needed a little relief, that's all he wanted. Just make everything stop for a bit. Husky scrunched his eyes closed. "Leave me alone… Please…" His entire body trembled like it was teetering on the edge of a leaf.

Finally, Husky's sapphire eyes opened, letting the dim light of the moon bombard him. And as the blurriness of reopening his eyes crawled away, he saw _him_. He was right there…right on the bed, when before there hadn't been a soul besides the fish +Anima.

Husky almost blinked, but didn't for fear of him disappearing. "C-Cooro…?" The crow +Anima was in the same room, lying on top of the blanket. The boy was completely naked, except for the small tangle of sheets that covered up his waist and pelvic area. The boy looked so…entrancing. Husky couldn't help but move closer, in total disbelief. "Is it…really you…?" A hand reached out, first touching Cooro's, then curling around it, their fingers intertwining.

Cooro gave a nod that sent icy horses galloping up Husky's back. And the fish +Anima couldn't stop himself from sliding closer, to where he almost touched the other boy. "I was waiting for you, Cooro… Waiting for you to come back from that monster…" His words came out airily as the breath started escaping his lungs. "And now you are…"

"I'll never go back to him," Cooro said reassuringly, his eyes drooping slightly.

That was it, Husky decided. He couldn't take it any longer, or else it would devour him from the inside. Stretching his neck out, he put his head next to Cooro's and gently pressed both of their lips together. And it was the most glorious feeling he'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Fire was caressing his face and slowly working its way down the rest of his body. When the burning flame reached Husky's wick, the ensuing pleasure made him cry out.

That cry brought Husky to his senses. His head jolted up from the pillow that he'd been pressing his face against. Looking around, he got to see the bitter truth: he was still alone, the rain was still hammering upon the window, and the night was still young. Husky sighed in a frustrated manner, sitting up and going over things in his head.

He'd honestly thought Husky was there? How stupid could he get…? There was no way Cooro would ever be alone with him, especially not on a night such as this. The crow +Anima was still with Zeke, and wouldn't come back to the side of justice and reason, no matter how much Husky lo-

Husky stopped, bringing his hands to his mouth to hide the gasp and squeak that followed. Had he really just thought that? But the pieces were all there, and even though he'd just imagined seeing Cooro, the feelings he'd had were more than genuine. There was still a great amount of heat running from his hands to his head, down through his legs and his pelvis. And something was throbbing against his pants. When Cooro's voice floated back into his mind, it pushed against his trousers, desperate for freedom.

How long would he keep up this barrier? Husky could do it no longer. It was time to open his eyes, stare ahead, and just admit it. No longer would it keep him awake, drill at him, and haunt him. No longer would he have to deny who he truly was. Husky took a deep breath, perhaps one last tug on normality, before saying it to himself.

He was in love with Cooro.

He was in love with Cooro.

He wanted Cooro.

He needed Cooro.

Getting to his feet, a bit wobbly, he crossed over to the window. Igneous' troops and the captain himself were still marching. They were getting ready for the fight. Just like Husky was going to have to do. Except now it would be five times as hard. Curling a gloved hand into a fist, Husky told himself again and again that he would do whatever it took to stop Zeke.

But could he, now that he knew for sure he was in love with Cooro? Could he truly put that aside for the good of Astaria?

It was going to be a long night.


	15. Siege

Alarms were raised in the midst of early morning. Husky was thrown from pleasant dreams by the screech, his eyes snapping open to knives piercing his ears.

"No…. No, they can't be here now…!"Thoughts began to swirl in his head like they were caught in the winds of a deadly tornado. If Zeke was at the castle, then that surely meant Cooro would be with him. What was Husky going to do…? He wanted to protect the castle, but that would invariably entail him fighting Cooro, and the fish +Anima wasn't sure if he could handle it. Especially with his recent revelation.

But the blaring alarm overwhelmed the boy's thinking. He hurriedly decided that those in the castle needed his help. If he came face-to-face with Cooro, well, he would make up his mind on what to do then. For the time being, he would avoid the crow +Anima with all his might.

Husky attempted to jump from the bed, but in his rush, his feet got tangled up in the sheets. With a cry somewhere between surprise and fear, he was whipped downward, his feet remaining in place while the rest of his body continued forward. Husky's head slammed into the floor with a resounding thud, and he was instantaneously knocked unconscious.

* * *

"This is great fun, isn't it?" Zeke's voice was one with a smooth updraft that carried it all over the field of battle. His army of +Anima was swelling in size like an awful tumor, slowly beginning to overwhelm the army that was so vehemently defending its castle. Already, piles of chainmail soaked a deep red were amassing around the drawbridge. And the revolution's leader had barely had to lift a hand – any soldier who dared get in his way was either taken on by a maddened +Anima, or defeated by the mastermind himself with elegance.

Everything was a painting for Zeke. Like some twisted pastoral, with its green grass stained and its trees being struck down. _Truly_, he thought, _this is the work of an artist_.

Each footstep of his brought him closer to the castle. A path was being erected before him by Tommy and Noïr, among others, who pushed soldiers out of the way – Noïr with a couple of short swords, Tommy with his enormous tail and rippling muscles. It was so satisfying for Zeke that he paid little, if any, attention to Greta, who was working right in front of him and repelling soldiers with all the might her little body had stored up. But each time she turned with a smile, ready to hear that one compliment she so longed for, Zeke was cooing at Noïr or complimenting Tommy. The little girl's face fell and her heart continuously shattered into a thousand tiny glass shards, all gleaming with a brilliant luminescence like fresh tears.

Greta wondered, at this moment in time, how many times a heart could break before it would reach the point where it couldn't be repaired again. Surely, she'd reached that point; she fathomed a guess that she'd far surpassed that point. Sighing, she closed her eyes and fixed herself yet again. One more time couldn't hurt, just like adding one more grain of rice would count for nothing in a heap of the stuff.

While she was busy trying to compose herself, a soldier saw his opening. But that girl, he thought, she was so tiny and fragile. He had a daughter, too, at home; a daughter who laughed and had heard her daddy promise that he would take her horseback riding. That's right; her daddy had promised to come home. And the soldier found himself unable to kill the girl he was faced with, even though she wasn't looking and the opportunity was pure perfection. Instead, because she was still an enemy after all, he rammed the butt of his sword into her frail chest, causing her to gag and collapse to the ground.

The soldier sighed and asked God for forgiveness; he didn't want to hurt the poor thing, but it had to be done. There was no answer from above, only the stillness of purple morning and the faint outline of white clouds against it.

And then the clouds were red and fuzzy. Glancing down, which proved to be a difficult task, the soldier saw the sheen of metal protruding from him. "Good night, sir." Looking up, the soldier stared into sickly green eyes that could've belonged to Satan himself; they bored into him, clawing and tearing at his soul, their evil gleam blinding him. With a gulp, the soldier fell apart at the seams and let loose a howl so unbefitting of a civilized person.

_A civilized soldier…_ Zeke chuckled to himself as the thought raced across his mind. _What an oxymoron. What civility is there to be found in bloodshed?_ Satisfied with not answering himself, Zeke yanked the sword out of his victim, letting little inkblots of blood fly onto his cheek, little notes in the revolutionary story he was writing.

Gasping, the soldier felt his knees give out beneath him as darkness crept into his vision. His brethren lay in tatters before him, and in that moment, he lost all hope. The radical +Anima were going to win; society was lost. _We persecuted them…for having animal features…_ his choked mind forced out. _…But in the end…we're all animals…_ His eyes drowned in black as his body gave out, and he collapsed face first onto the grass, his life essence forming a lake around its shell.

_Sorry, but…daddy's not coming home…_

Zeke giggled merrily. Yet another worthless human he didn't have to bother with. He turned his sights towards the drawbridge and advanced towards it with an almost obsessive stalk.

Down on the ground, Greta looked up and extended a trembling hand. "M-Master…! Pl-Please, help me up…!" she cried out weakly, her stomach still doing flips from the attack. Her entire body quaked and she stretched her hand up as much as she could. But Zeke stepped right over, not even taking notice of the little girl. For the thousandth time that night, Greta's heart was smashed into pieces. How they could continue to reassemble was anyone's guess; someone who wasn't in love would've given up a long time ago.

Zeke's eyes flashed. _Soldiers parting for me, making me a path to my goal… I'm Moses, and I'm parting the Red Sea…! I'm Moses…! No, I'm God! _A shrill laugh pierced the dawn sky and it seemed like, for an instant, all eyes were on the leader of the revolution in all his insane glory, as if the deities of the night were robing him in the blood he'd spilt.

And that was the instant when Igneous knew what he had to do. He gave the order with a roar not of fear or desperation or defeat, but of hope – hope that something could be done to stop the advance of evil. "RETREAT!" And that call repeated over and over again, an alarm and siren; at the same time, a beacon for escape. The soldiers that could hear him and still move wound their way through the bloody pile of corpses to the drawbridge, escaping into the confines of the castle. Those who weren't as lucky as them, or were already in heated conflict, could only watch as the drawbridge began its path up until it closed. They knew then that there was one choice – fight and die with the highest honor so that their allies could prepare to fend off the invaders.

One soldier looked to his friend, and each nodded. They knew the end was near. "It's a fine morning, isn't it?" one asked his friend, a strange calmness to his voice.

"…Yes," the other replied, gripping his sword in his sweating hands. "It's a good morning, and there's going to be a beautiful sunrise."

"It's a gorgeous morning to die, isn't it?"

"…Yes."

* * *

Cooro was waiting with the battalion of +Anima he was a part of. They were on the south end of the castle, where no troops anticipated an attack. Zeke had conjectured that a frontal assault would draw the castle's soldiers to the drawbridge, leaving the back vulnerable. From the blueprints Rose had stolen, Zeke had found two ways into the interior of the castle – it was going to be a bottleneck getting in, but after that, it was smooth sailing.

A tingling sensation, much like how one feels when their leg falls asleep and wakes up, wound its way up Cooro's spine. This was it… They were ready.

All at once, it began. The +Anima began piling into the entrance, and in no time, there was a sprawling force inside the castle walls, doing exactly what Zeke had intended – the actual invasion. It was a large black mass, as if a dam had been let loose and water was spilling in; as if it were a swarm of locusts that buzzed and laid waste to whatever was in its path.

Anything that got in the way of this mass, even as it broke apart and went down different paths, was destroyed. Tapestries that had hung in the palace for countless centuries were torn off the walls and trampled; busts were smashed to dusty bits, and the littering of blank porcelain faces gave innumerable hallways the eerie semblance of murder. It was as if a thunderstorm was happening within the castle's walls, and it rattled the foundations to the very mortar that columns bled as they seized and listed, half-toppling.

Igneous thought he was just hearing things as he herded his remaining troops through the halls, hoping to set up a resistance for when Zeke's forces came through the drawbridge. But as the sound got louder and louder, closer and closer, he realized what was happening.

It was a realization that came far too late.

The +Anima were upon the soldiers in a blood-soaked moment. No word could describe the horror but "massacre." Soldiers were thrown against the walls, their armor ripped off and their bodies mangled, adding to the terror of the surprise attack. Soldiers that weren't automatically killed screamed as they watched their allies ripped apart before their very eyes. Sheer, pure horror swept through the troops and it was enough to almost instantly demoralize them. It dismantled them. Many stood there, frozen, wishing they might erase the foul and hellish images from their minds. But nothing would work.

"Get a grip on yourselves!" Igneous shouted in a last ditch attempt to rally his fighters, the people he loved and trusted and was so very proud of. But nothing worked, and he got to watch as more and more of his soldiers vanished under the wide blanket of death. Finally, he had no choice but to retreat once again, a man alone in the house he was charged with protecting. As he ran, he wondered how it could've come to this.

Each of Igneous' breaths burned in his lungs. He was tired, he was defeated…his arms were sore from the clanking of his sword. Even if he'd felled some of the revolting +Anima, he wasn't an army, and he knew he had no hopes of defeating the mall. But, be damned, he wouldn't go down without a fight, and he would take a cartful of the monsters along for the ride.

They were racing from behind him… Igneous' speed picked up as he wended his way, unsure of where he was headed. The hallways started to blend together in a mix that should've only been able to be conjured by hallucinogens. The captain stumbled along, his legs lagging behind the fear his head was trapped in; his stomach twisted itself in knots, ready to purge at any moment.

A cold, early morning chill swept through the hallway and tickled the captain's exposed skin. _What…? It's so cool… But that means…_ Igneous felt his legs give out and he had to prop himself against the wall to stay up. The drawbridge had been opened. It was all over…

A few minutes later, the captain was surrounded on all sides. Hungry, vengeful +Anima looked upon the captain, and they chomped at the bit, saliva running from their mouths, ready to feast on more human blood. But the sword that Igneous wildly swung kept them at bay, none wanting to be hurt too much for little reason. The army was gone – one puny soldier wasn't worth potential death.

"Move, all of you, move." Zeke appeared from the semi-circle of murderous +Anima, looking quite proud. "Let him alone, my friends, he is nothing. I daresay, I want this one kept alive." He laughed maniacally, a laugh which was shortly in the company of many others.

"Shut up!" Igneous yelled, still waving his sword. "You! Zeke!" Zeke stopped, quieting those around him. "Who the hell do you think you are? Look at you, thinking you're some kind of great liberator! I doubt you're even a +Anima!"

A deep hush fell over the crowd. Their eyes focused on Igneous, and in the next instant Zeke, then back to Igneous, and then back to Zeke. No one had dared to question their leader in such a way.

Zeke giggled in a sickly-sweet voice. "Oh, so that's what you think." The giggle performed a brilliant crescendo, growing in size and volume and intensity until it was a full-blown cackle that threatened to rock the columns off their foundations. "Let me enlighten you."And then he was gone.

Igneous looked around, certain the boy had performed a vanishing trick like the great magician – no, the great faker – he was.

"You dare to challenge me?" Igneous craned his neck upwards, where he saw Zeke falling down towards him. So the boy had jumped…but so high…! Igneous studied Zeke. His skin color had gone a slight, lighter variation of his eyes, and his hands were replaced by two slender, curved, scythe-like appendages that gleamed silver. And Igneous took a second only to determine what Zeke was.

When the boy landed, he put one arm behind Igneous' neck, while the other one held its sharp blade to the captain. If he so wished, he could slice into Igneous with the speed of a jaguar and create a red waterfall. "No one challenges me and wins, Captain. I thought you'd have learned by now."

* * *

Husky was just coming to. His sapphire eyes glanced around to find his room the same way he'd left it before his unfortunate bump on the head. One thing was different, though, he thought as he got to his feet, brushing tiny fragments of the floor off his clothes. The room was…quiet, silent as the still of night. The silence was eerie and unsettling; something about it made Husky's bones shiver, as though they were once again underwater and struggling for life against crushing pressure.

That was when he realized the alarm wasn't screaming anymore. His hopes lifting that Igneous had fended off Zeke, he ran to the window with a smile sneaking onto his face. But it fell as soon as he saw the carnage on the front lawn of the castle - +Anima and soldiers were lying all over in a haunting mosaic of broken bones, swords, and a sickening red. The number of castle troops far outnumbered those of the +Anima, and a lump formed in the boy's throat.

How could Zeke be winning? Wasn't the villain supposed to be vanquished?

His train of thought was interrupted as the door to his chamber swung open. Husky flew around but stood there, riveted in spot, as his eyes fell upon the person who was in the doorway. "C-Co…"

Cooro was there, and this time he wasn't an illusion. Flesh and blood, reality Cooro was in the castle, and not just in one of Husky's dreams. He felt like running towards his crow friend, embracing him, and never letting him go. But that's when other +Anima came in behind Cooro, the locust swarm oozing into the chamber with a strangling presence.

In moments, it had overwhelmed poor Husky, as he was next to powerless against this many of +Anima. Not to mention his heart had been frozen by the mere image of Cooro standing there, doing nothing to help the boy who had once been his best friend. Cooro was almost like a statue, unmoving, his eyes fixated on the silver-haired boy who was being wrestled down amidst screams and pleas. Only when there was no chance for the boy to escape did the crow +Anima move, lightly, as though he were gliding over ice.

It took all of Husky's strength to crane his neck up and stare at Cooro. "W-Why…?" he asked with a grunt. His muscles were beginning to give out, and it wouldn't be much longer before his body wouldn't be able to handle anymore. "I-I thought you were…my friend…"

Cooro's mouth curled into a slight frown. "You tried to stop Master Zeke from liberating +Anima. You're not only a traitor to us; you're a traitor to your own kind. I hate traitors." He foot flew forward and struck Husky's cheek.

Husky had no time to do all the things he wanted – no time to cry, or scream, or struggle. No time to plead or be in shock or feel his heart teetering upon the edge, falling into a chasm and breaking apart all the way down, so that when it hit the bottom, it was unrecognizable. He didn't have any time at all, because the hit made his body and mind crumple, and he was left unconscious, drowning yet again.

* * *

"Let us go!" Nana cried as she was drug along by a rather strong bear +Anima. All her struggles were in vain, as she was getting no further from the large, grizzly man. A pair of irons kept her hands close together behind her back, as they did for Senri and Alice. Neither of them were struggling – it appeared that they'd given in already.

But Nana finally got her wish when she was thrown to the cold stone floor of the throne room. Looking up, she beheld the bloody bodies of the King and Queen hanging from a spear that had once held the proud banner of Astaria; now it was only shreds.

"Well, well."

Her eyes darted back to the visage of Zeke, who towered over her like a giant. "It appears as if all the opponents are here." His eyes scanned over Nana, Senri, Alice, and Igneous. The newcomer to the defeated quartet was Husky, a purple bruise forming on his cheek. Cooro had tossed his unconscious body to the ground.

"Cooro!" Nana screamed. "Wh yare you doing this? Aren't we your friends?"

"Don't listen to them, Cooro. You did a fantastic job." Everyone could almost see the pride welling up in Cooro's cheeks as he was praised by Zeke. "Now, send them all to the dungeon. I don't want to see another one of their faces up here."

Greta watched with a pang of sympathy as the prisoners were carted off, not a one of them fighting anymore. They looked truly pathetic, like bugs; like something that wasn't fit to exist.

Chuckling, Zeke sat down on the throne and picked up a glass filled with a deep scarlet wine. Putting the glass to his lips, he let the flavor surge through his system like a flood, lighting up every sensor and giving a feeling of pleasure much like lovemaking. Even Zeke could hardly believe it now that it was done – he'd won. He was King now, and he would make the rules. Power, absolute power, was his and his alone. The taste of victory was almost as sweet and succulent as the wine he took another dainty sip of and set back down.

"I could get used to this."


End file.
